Key facts
- Khan said London is lobbying the government for Transport for London to have more powers over automated vehicles.
- Under current rules, Transport for London can only give or refuse consent for autonomous vehicle use in the city.
- Freenow by Lyft hopes to launch fully driverless Baidu robotaxis as early as next year under a national licensing scheme.
- About 24 autonomous Baidu Apollo Go vehicles are being tested in the London borough of Brent, according to the report.
- Danny O'Gorman of Freenow by Lyft said how the service will be regulated once running still needs to be ironed out.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, called for a cap on the number of robotaxis on the city's streets and said politicians had failed to grasp the pace of change from the technology. He questioned whether the rules for autonomous cars were fit for purpose and said London needed powers to limit a mass rollout.
"What we don't want is a situation where there's a big bang without proper regulation in place," Khan said. "We've got to make sure the regulation is fit for purpose before we have a mass rollout of things like automated vehicles." He said the city was lobbying the government for Transport for London to have more powers over automated vehicles, and raised questions about air quality, congestion and the livelihoods of private hire and black-taxi drivers.
Under current regulations for fully autonomous vehicles, Transport for London can only give or refuse consent for their use within London and cannot manage or license robotaxi services. Khan said there was no cap on the number of private hire vehicles or taxis and that the city had lobbied for those powers too. "London isn't San Francisco," he said, citing a city of almost 10 million people, 400 villages and narrow roads.
The comments came after Freenow by Lyft unveiled Chinese robotaxis now being tested in London. In September, Uber began offering limited passenger services in Wayve's self-driving cars, with a safety driver in the front seat, under a Transport for London licence. Freenow by Lyft hopes to launch fully driverless Baidu robotaxis as early as next year under a national licensing scheme. Waymo, which operates robotaxis in San Francisco and other US cities, is also focused primarily on London, according to the report.
Danny O'Gorman, UK and Ireland general manager at Freenow by Lyft, said the UK's national framework for driverless cars was an important factor and "great news for us to really invest in the market", while adding that how the service will be regulated once running still needs to be ironed out. He said the company was working closely with Transport for London and wanted to do things the right way.
About 24 autonomous Baidu Apollo Go vehicles are being tested in the London borough of Brent, according to the report. O'Gorman said many test trips still require human intervention, with roadworks proving difficult, and that following the rules of the road is an interesting challenge in London. Freenow by Lyft is promising a purpose-built autonomous vehicle depot in the UK, where O'Gorman said a large proportion of displaced taxi drivers could be employed in remote operating and servicing jobs. He said the larger risks to the black-cab trade were the driver age profile, with two-thirds over 50 and retiring, and the cost of the vehicle.