Plans to rollout robotaxis in London have been delayed due to regulatory and technical hurdles.
The self-driving taxis were said to be coming to the capital by the end of the year, with companies like Uber-backed Wayve confirming its fleets was “ready to go” in June.
Both companies were granted the first minicab licenses in London to allow them to offer the self-driving robotaxi rides.
As many as 100,000 people signed up to express their interest in the robotaxi service - which would have initially operated with a human driver at the wheel while the technology is confirmed as safe.
But despite initial breakthroughs in progress - such as the transport secretary Heidi Alexander accelerating the proposed timeline for trials by a year - the rollout has been stunted by delays in guidance, as reported by the Financial Times.
TfL has still not published the guidance that companies wanting to offer services must follow to win its approval.
The director of strategy for TfL, Christina Calderato, said last month at the London assembly’s transport committee meeting that it would not be in a position to accept applications “for some time.”
“I do not think we are in a rush to get [the guidelines] out. There is a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes,” she said.
Google-owned Waymo is leading the race to launch in London and is already testing about 100 vehicles in the city. But Uber-backed Wayve and Chinese-owned Baidu are not far behind.
But in order to fully launch robotaxi services, the DVSA must approve a new process - known as the automated passenger services permit. As it stands, not one vehicle has been approved by the DVSA, it is understood.
Robotaxi services have already been launched in more than 20 cities across the US, China, and the Middle East. Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, became the first European city to offer self-driving rides to the public through Uber - though a human driver is still present for monitoring,
Ben Loewenstein, Waymo’s head of policy and government affairs for the UK and Europe, told the Financial Times that the company was currently “working through the safety approval process” with the transport department and was waiting on TfL’s guidance to gain consent.
He added that Waymo was working towards launching a fully autonomous service “by the end of this year” but would not say whether the company would be able to offer paid rides to the general public in that timeframe.
TfL has given 15 private vehicle hire licenses to Wayve’s Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles, which are fitted with AI-powered driving software.
Following trials of the driverless cars, Wavye plans to switch to a Nissan Leaf vehicle, which is due to be released later this year.
Alex Kendall, Wayve’s chief executive, said the company never claimed it would have a fully driverless operation this year.
“I don’t want to put a timeline on it because we want to make sure we pass through [the regulatory process],” he told the FT. “This work is continuing at pace. London is a significant step up in complexity compared to Phoenix or San Francisco.”
A TfL spokesperson said: “Any rollout of autonomous vehicles must be carefully managed and support the aims of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy. This includes the management of congestion and alignment with Vision Zero, supporting the goal of eliminating all deaths and serious injuries from collisions on London’s streets by 2041. We are developing guidance, which will be issued shortly, that will support applicants looking to operate future services. To ensure the guidance is as rigorous as it can be and doesn’t conflict with advice from other authorities, we are taking into account the DfT’s recently published advice and the findings of the London Assembly’s scrutiny that took place over the summer, and continue to engage with operators expressing an interest in operating in London.
“The Automated Passenger Services permit is granted by the Government through the DVSA with TfL giving consent at the end of the process. It is our understanding that no operator has completed the first stage of the process, which is registering vehicles with the Vehicle Certification Agency, and no applications for a DVSA permit, or TfL consent to operate in London have been received.”
