Britain built a legal route to driverless taxis in May. London’s first robotaxi service did not use it.
TL;DR
Uber and Wayve began carrying paying passengers in London on 3 September with a licensed driver in every car. The reason is the legal route they chose: TfL licensed the vehicles as private hire vehicles, which legally requires a human in the driver’s seat, rather than through the Automated Passenger Services permit scheme that has allowed driverless trials since 15 May. No operator has completed even stage one of that permit process in London.
Uber and Wayve began carrying paying passengers in London on 3 September, in what Wayve described in a statement as the UK’s first autonomous ride-hailing service. Every car has a trained, TfL-licensed private hire driver on board.
Olivia Solon rode one on a wet morning this week and summarised the experience for Bloombergas autonomous rides with hands still hovering over the steering wheel. That is the accurate description, and the reason is legal rather...
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