Who’s driving the future of autonomous transport in London?

The Government should give Transport for London (TfL) the power to set a cap on the number of autonomous passenger vehicles operators can deploy in London, when the full regulations under the Automated Vehicles Act are put in place in 2027. This should happen alongside devolving the power to issue Automated Passenger Services (APS) permits to TfL.

In its report, the London Assembly Transport Committee believes that as it stands, it has not currently heard sufficient evidence to persuade it that London should welcome autonomous passenger services. Recommendations in the report ‘Who’s driving the future of autonomous transport in London?’ include:

• The current Automated Passenger Service (APS) permitting framework should be regarded as transitional, during the initial small-scale pilot phase. When the Government puts in place the full regulations under the Automated Vehicles Act in 2027, it should devolve the power to issue and withdraw APS permits, and to set conditions for operators wishing to deploy autonomous passenger vehicles in London, to Transport for London (TfL).
• TfL, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust and the London Fire Brigade (LFB), should establish a standard framework for interaction between autonomous passenger vehicles and emergency services.
• TfL should establish a definition for safety incidents involving Autonomous Passenger Vehicles. This should include as a minimum, crashes and near misses. As a condition for granting consent, TfL should require that this information is provided along with the vehicle’s decision-making processes that led to the incident within 24 hours.
• TfL should establish ‘empty miles driven’ as a core reporting metric, as a condition for granting consent to Automated Passenger Service (APS) permits. TfL should continuously monitor and publish this data, alongside data on traffic levels and congestion. Negative impacts on congestion should be a reason for withdrawal of consent if TfL is granted full regulatory powers.