London rollout of robotaxis delayed amid lack of guidance for firms to follow
Summary
The plan to introduce robotaxis in London this year has been delayed due to regulatory and technical challenges. Companies like Uber and Wayve have licenses to test self-driving taxis with safety drivers but are waiting for official guidelines from Transport for London before fully launching driverless services.Key Facts
- Uber and Wayve received mini-cab licenses to offer self-driving taxi rides in London with a human driver currently present.
- The UK government initially planned commercial trials of fully driverless taxis to start in spring 2024.
- Transport for London (TfL) has not yet released guidelines that companies need to follow to get approval for fully driverless robotaxis.
- TfL’s director of strategy said applications for approval are not expected soon due to ongoing work behind the scenes.
- Over 100,000 Londoners are on waitlists for self-driving taxi rides from Uber and Wayve.
- Other companies like Google-owned Waymo and China’s Baidu are also preparing to launch robotaxi services in London and Europe.
- Robotaxi services exist in more than 20 cities globally, including in the US, China, and the Middle East.
- Approval for operating taxis without a driver requires a new permit from the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, but no such permits have been granted yet.
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