London Mayor Sadiq Khan Demands Cap on Robotaxis Before Mass Rollout

London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants a cap on the number of robotaxis allowed on the city's streets, with the UK government poised to permit fully driverless vehicles in the capital. Khan says the city needs new powers before any mass rollout happens.

He accuses politicians of failing to "grasp the pace of change" from the technology, which he says could threaten jobs and increase congestion. He's also questioning whether current rules for autonomous cars are fit for purpose.

What's already on London's roads?

The mayor's comments came after Chinese robotaxis now being tested in London were unveiled by Freenow by Lyft, an Uber rival. About 24 autonomous Baidu Apollo Go vehicles are running tests in the London borough of Brent.

In September, Uber started offering limited passenger services in Wayve's self-driving cars — with a safety driver in the front seat — under licence from Transport for London (TfL).

Freenow by Lyft hopes to launch fully driverless Baidu robotaxis as early as next year, under a national licensing scheme. The companies, along with Waymo — which runs robotaxis in San Francisco and other US cities — are primarily focused on London.

What does Khan want changed?

Khan is blunt about the risk of moving too fast. "What we don't want is a situation where there's a big bang without proper regulation in place," he 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 added: "I think the pace of change when it comes to tech and innovation has not been fully grasped by politicians. There's got to be incremental movement when it comes to things like robotaxis or automated vehicles."

The mayor is lobbying the government to hand TfL more powers than it currently holds over autonomous vehicles. He flags unresolved questions: "There are big questions that haven't been answered yet: what impact will this have on air quality, on congestion, on those people whose livelihood is being a private hire vehicle driver or a black-taxi driver."

On capping numbers, Khan notes the current gap: "At the moment there's no cap on the number of private hire vehicles or taxis. We've lobbied for those powers as well."

He also pushes back on comparisons with the US. "London isn't San Francisco," he said. "We're a city of almost 10 million, 400 villages, narrow roads, and it's really important to get this right."

Who opposes the rollout?

Drivers' unions have staged protests at the London headquarters of Wayve and Waymo in recent weeks. Many Uber drivers fear for their future.

Under current regulations for fully autonomous vehicles, TfL can only give or refuse consent for their use within London — it cannot manage or license robotaxi services. That leaves the capital's authorities less enthusiastic than ministers about accelerating the technology.

What does the operator say?

Freenow by Lyft calls the UK's national framework for driverless cars an important factor in its plans. Danny O'Gorman, UK and Ireland general manager, said it was "great news for us to really invest in the market. But in terms of how it's going to be regulated, once the service is up and running, that's something that still needs to be ironed out."

O'Gorman said the company works closely with TfL and "wanted to do things the right way."

The Baidu cars are roomy, with a massage seat and a built-in rear touchscreen for passengers. They already run in fully autonomous service in cities in China and the UAE, and handled London streets safely in a Guardian test drive in October. But many test trips still need human intervention, and roadworks prove difficult.

London traffic culture adds its own friction. "You get beeped at a lot for following the speed limit," O'Gorman said, noting that an AV "following the rules of the road" stands out when many drivers ignore them.

Will robotaxis kill taxi jobs?

Freenow by Lyft is promising a purpose-built AV depot in the UK. O'Gorman said a large proportion of displaced taxi drivers could work there in remote operating and servicing jobs.

He also argues the black-cab trade faces bigger threats than automation: "The larger risks to that industry are the driver age profile: two-thirds are over 50 and they're retiring, and the vehicle's too expensive." Scaling AVs to threatening numbers, he said, "is going to take a long time."

The standoff sets up a test of whether Westminster grants Khan the cap-and-manage powers he wants before the first fully driverless Baidu rides launch as early as next year.