People and companies are being encouraged to help shape the future of self-driving vehicles by sharing their views as part of a consultation launched on 21 July by Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood on new automated passenger services permitting scheme to consider how taxi, private-hire and bus style services using self-driving vehicles will be regulated once they hit roads in Great Britain.
It is said that self-driving vehicles will be able to provide greater choice and flexibility for passengers especially during unsociable hours, and could also help to add new public transport options in rural areas. The consultation follows the recent government decision to fast-track pilots of self-driving passenger vehicles to spring 2026, which will allow firms to pilot small-scale services without a safety driver for the first time, and which could be available to members of the public to book via an app before a potential wider roll-out when the Automated Vehicles Act is implemented in full from the second half of 2027.
The Government says that bringing forward the pilots of self-driving vehicles will help to deliver its Plan for Change by creating 38,000 jobs and unlocking an industry worth £42 billion by 2035.
Minister Greenwood said: “Self-driving vehicles are one of the most exciting opportunities to improve transport for so many people, especially those in rural areas or unable to drive. We want to work with passengers and industry to make this new form of transport safe and accessible, as we take our next steps towards adoption. This technology doesn’t just have the potential to improve transport for millions of people. It will help stimulate innovation, create thousands of jobs, and drive investment to put more money in people’s pockets – all part of delivering our Plan for Change.” Representative groups including industry stakeholders, trade unions and members of the public are being asked to make their views heard, to influence future policy over a variety of areas critical for self-driving vehicles to run safely and efficiently, including how self-driving vehicles can be made as accessible as possible for disabled and older people; how services of self-driving vehicles are approved by councils, and when a permit to operate a service should be varied, suspended or withdrawn.
Gavin Jackson, CEO of autonomous vehicle specialist Oxa, which has already supported ‘bus-like’ services in the US and started rolling out self-driving vehicles at Heathrow Airport to improve baggage handling, said: “As the first company to trial an autonomous vehicle on UK roads back in 2016, we are delighted to see the UK continuing to progress towards making automated vehicle services a commercial reality.
The APS scheme will enable the deployment of innovative public transport services that will augment our current transport network, making it easier and more accessible than ever to get around.”
The Automated Vehicles Act will require self-driving vehicles to achieve a level of safety at least as high as competent and careful human drivers, and undergo rigorous safety tests before being allowed on the road.
