London’s mayor has called for a cap on the numbers of robotaxis on its streets, with the UK government poised to allow fully driverless vehicles to operate in the capital. Sadiq Khan said politicians had failed to “grasp the pace of change” from the technology, which could threaten jobs and increase congestion in the city, and questioned whether the rules for autonomous cars were fit for purpose. His comments came after Chinese robotaxis, now being tested in London, were unveiled by Freenow by Lyft, a rival to Uber.
In September Uber started offering limited passenger services in Wayve’s self-driving cars, albeit with a safety driver in the front seat, under licence from Transport for London (TfL). Freenow by Lyft is hoping to launch fully driverless Baidu robotaxis as early as next year, under a national licensing scheme. However, the companies, as well as Waymo – which operates robotaxis in San Francisco and other US cities – are primarily focusing on London and Khan said the city needed to be able to limit the rollout.
We’ve got to make sure the regulation is fit for purpose before we have a mass rollout of things like automated vehicles,” said Khan. He added: “I think the pace of change when it comes to tech and innovation has not been fully grasped by politicians. There’s got to be incremental movement when it comes to things like robotaxis or automated vehicles.
Khan added: “Is there going to be a cap? At the moment there’s no cap on the number of private hire vehicles or taxis. We’ve lobbied for those powers as well.
We’re a city of almost 10 million, 400 villages, narrow roads, and it’s really important to get this right.” Under current regulations for fully autonomous vehicles, TfL can only give or refuse consent for their use within London and not manage or license robotaxi services, making the capital’s authorities somewhat less enthusiastic than ministers to accelerate towards the new technology. However, Freenow by Lyft said the UK’s national framework for driverless cars was an important factor. Danny O’Gorman, UK and Ireland general manager, said it was “great news for us to really invest in the market.
But in terms of how it’s going to be regulated, once the service is up and running, that’s something that still needs to be ironed out.” O’Gorman said the company was working closely with TfL and “wanted to do things the right way”. About 24 autonomous Baidu Apollo Go vehicles are being tested in the London borough of Brent. The spacious Chinese cars, which incorporate a massage seat and a built-in touchscreen in the back for passengers, are in fully autonomous service in cities in China and the UAE, and appeared to be handling the streets safely in a test drive in October for the Guardian.
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