ROBOTAXIS...ROBOTAXIS LONDON ROBOTAXI LAUNCH DELAYED AS
REGULATORS FAIL TO ISSUE CRUCIAL GUIDANCE
Robotaxis have moved a step closer to London’s streets after Transport for London (TfL) granted private hire vehicle licences to Uber and British artificial intelligence firm Wayve. The decision allows them to deploy a fleet of autonomous, pure-electric Ford Mustang Mach-Es equipped with custom camera pods and radar units, making London the first city to use Wayve’s commercial autonomous technology. However, a trained human driver must sit behind the wheel to monitor journeys for now. Despite this milestone, The Guardian reports that a fully driverless rollout is unlikely to happen this year due to regulatory and technical hurdles.
TfL has still not published the guidance that companies must follow to win approval for driverless operations. Christina Calderato, TfL’s director of strategy, recently told the London assembly’s transport committee that the transit authority would not be ready to accept applications “for some time,” adding, “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.” Passenger demand remains high, with over 100,000 Londoners registering their interest. Uber confirmed that selected members from this waiting list will be offered trial rides with a safety driver to provide feedback ahead of a full commercial launch. Operating entirely without a human driver requires separate approval through an automated passenger
PHTM SEPTEMBER 2026
services permit from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), and no vehicles have been approved by the DVSA yet. Wayve’s chief executive, Alex Kendall, clarified that his 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 said. “This work is continuing at pace. London is a significant step up in complexity compared to Phoenix or San Francisco.”
Meanwhile, global competitors are also looking at the market. Google- owned Waymo is working through safety approvals with the transport department, while Baidu began testing vehicles in London recently and plans public rides next year. While Sarah Gates, Wayve’s vice president for global affairs, hailed the new licences as an important step toward cleaner and quieter streets, London passengers will experience the technology with a human supervisor behind the wheel while regulators finalise the necessary framework.
ACCOUNTABILITY QUESTIONS ARISE AS ROBOTAXIS HIT THE U.S.
USA Federal regulators recently approved the commercial deployment of Zoox’s
technology. steering-
wheel-free robotaxis - a major milestone for AV
Passengers in Las Vegas will soon be able to pay for rides in these vehicles. While AVs are promoted as a way to improve road safety, their arrival introduces complex legal questions over who is accountable when collisions occur. In traditional traffic accidents, investigators typically examine human behaviour such as speeding or failure to give way. AVs shift that focus toward tech and corporate factors. Investigators will have to evaluate whether vehicle sensors failed to detect pedestrians, if software mis- identified obstacles, or system updates created performance issues. These investigations will
require analysing digital evidence, e.g. camera recordings, sensor data, software logs, which must be kept following an incident. Regulatory approval of AVs does not eliminate the possibility of accidents, and regulators have mandated additional reporting for crashes and safety-related incidents. Historically transport innovations show that real-world deployment often reveals challenges that testing environments cannot fully replicate. Legal standards for negligence, reasonable care, and product safety remain applicable despite the absence of a human driver. Courts will have to evaluate whether companies adequately tested systems, provided proper warnings, and prevented avoidable injuries.
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