Book a self-driving Uber next year: Government confirms autonomous vehicle pilots open to the public
Britons wanting to book a taxi will soon be able to hail an autonomous car as the Government fast-tracks self-driving vehicle pilots.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed the Government will introduce self-driving commercial pilots on England's roads from Spring 2026, with firms able to pilot small scale 'taxi -and bus-like' services without a safety driver for the first time.
It is likely these will be available to members of the public to book via an app. Uber has already confirmed its teaming up with Microsoft-backed AI partner Wayve to bring driverless ride-hailing to London next year.
The announcement has been welcomed by the automotive industry and mobility groups as 'great news' with the Government estimating it will directly help create around 38,000 jobs, make roads safer and keep the UK among the 'world leaders in new technology'.
The advancement is the first step in a wider rollout of self-driving cars which will see the Automated Vehicles (AV) Act become law from the second half of 2027. It follows Labour's delays to autonomous driving announced last month, when access to UK roads by unmanned vehicles was pushed back from 2026 to 2027.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: 'We can't afford to take a back seat on AI, unless it's on a self-driving bus. It's great to see the UK storming ahead as a global leader in using this technology - making our roads safer, travel easier and driving growth by spurring innovation across the country.'
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed the Government will introduce self-driving commercial pilots on England's roads from Spring 2026, with people able to book a self-driving taxi like an Uber via an app
Self-driving vehicle trials have been underway in the UK since January 2015 with British firms Wayve and Oxa at the forefront of breakthroughs, recently securing a record-breaking investment of over £741 million ($1 billion), as well as announcing partnerships with Nissan and Uber.
Its self-driving vehicles are already used at Heathrow Airport to improve baggage handling.
Last month Labour delayed the introduction of legislation for driverless vehicles, with the Department for Transport confirmed provisions for safety driver-less AV pilots have been pushed back to 'the second half of 2027' at the earliest - a year later than the Tory Government had promised.
The DfT said it was 'exploring options for short-term trials and pilots'.
Today the Government has reiterated that 'innovation, world-leading regulation and road safety is at the forefront' of the pilots with s elf-driving vehicles aiming to reduce human error on the roads – which contribute to 88 per cent of all collisions.
The AV Act will require self-driving vehicles to achieve a level of safety at least as high as competent and careful human drivers, and must undergo vigorous tests before being allowed on our roads.
Because AVs have faster reaction times than humans, and are trained on real-world incidents, never get distracted or tired, and won't drink or drive, they can help reduce deaths and injuries caused by road collisions.
In fact, the SMMT's Connected and Automated Mobility report found that AVs have the potential to save 3,900 lives and avert 60,000 serious collisions by 2040.
Arun Srinivasan, Chair of RoadSafe, said, 'Collision avoidance and advanced driver assistance systems have already proved to be vital in reducing casualties and technology has further potential to prevent crashes.
'Developing and demonstrating the next generation of connected safety technologies is an essential step in achieving a shared vision of roads without fatalities or serious injuries.
'This initiative forms an important step in accelerating the development, deployment and adoption of self-driving vehicles as part of a strategic approach to enabling safe, accessible mobility on our roads.'
The Government has also estimated that the speed up of AV tech will add £42bn to the UK economy by 2035, but the SMMT goes further predicting self-driving vehicles have the potential economic benefits as high as £66bn and an estimated additional 342,000 jobs by 2040.
Importantly, AVs offer a wider array of accessible mobility solutions to disabled and older people.
Andrew Miller, chief executive of Motability Operations, said, 'Automated vehicles have the potential to be transformative. Implementing this technology on the UK's roads could help our disabled customers be better connected to work, education, healthcare and wider society.
'We welcome this announcement, which is an important step in bringing automated vehicles a step closer, and we will work with the sector to ensure that when the time comes the transition to automated vehicles is smooth for our customers.'
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: 'Pilot rollout of commercial self-driving services from next year will widen public access to mobility, while the consultation will ensure the technology is deployed in a safe and responsible way.
'These latest measures will help Britain remain a world leader in the development and introduction of self-driving vehicles, a manifest application of AI at its finest.'
No takers? A YouGov survey of 4,087 Britons found that only 3% of the public said they would prefer being transported by a self-driving car over one piloted by a human driver
Do people actually want self-driving cars?
A YouGov survey of 4,087 Britons conducted in May found that only three per cent of the public said they would prefer being transported by a self-driving car over one piloted by a human driver.
Two in five said they would want to be driven by another person, and half would rather do the driving themselves.
While there is little preference for the driverless car option across social groups, the poll identified a marked difference in the driver versus passenger preference; while most men and over 25s (51 per cent and 64 per cent respectively) would prefer to at the controls, these figures fall to just 39 per cent among women and 26 per cent for 18-24 year olds.
Concerns regarding self-driving vehicles likely result for the number of high-profile accidents - sometimes fatal - and near misses involving autonomous cars in the US.
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