Britain opens applications for self-driving taxi and bus pilots

Britain opens applications for self-driving taxi and bus pilots

22 May 2026: Firms can now apply to run taxi, private hire and bus-style self-driving services in Great Britain under a government pilot scheme, and the Department for Transport says passengers could be booking journeys later this year. The industry body SMMT calls it the first time legislation lets operators offer passenger-carrying commercial services to the general public.

What operators have to clear

The scheme exists to collect real-world evidence of how the vehicles cope on ordinary streets, from busy urban traffic to carrying passengers. Applications face approval checks by government, including safety assessments designed to show the technology is protected against cyber and security threats.

A second gate belongs to local government. Local transport authorities such as Transport for London must give local consent, so that services fit local priorities. For a London launch that makes the capital's transport body as important as the Department for Transport.

Who is lining up

The government names British company Wayve among the firms the scheme is meant to attract. Three statements published with the announcement describe what is planned.

Uber says it can't wait to offer autonomous rides in the capital this year; Sarfraz Maredia, its global head of autonomous mobility and delivery, called the scheme an important step. Waymo's Ben Loewenstein said the company is working with the Department for Transport and TfL, and that Waymo serves riders in eleven major US metropolitan areas with more than 500,000 rides each week. Wayve's Sarah Gates said the company plans to bring a supervised passenger service to market this year, after nearly a decade of developing its technology in the UK.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said legislation will for the first time allow commercial services such as robotaxis for the general public, and cited a market expected to be worth about £3.7 billion a year in Britain by 2040.

The minister's case

Simon Lightwood, the Roads and Buses Minister, put it this way: "This pilot scheme brings that future closer, giving passengers the opportunity to experience self-driving travel first-hand while ensuring safety always comes first."

The government's argument rests on access and growth. It points to older and disabled people who could gain independence, to jobs and to billions of pounds for the economy by 2035, and it says human error contributes to 88 percent of collisions on British roads.

What follows the pilots

The pilots feed the wider rulemaking. The government says what it learns will inform the self-driving vehicle regulations now being developed, after a call for evidence that closed in March, and that it is working with safety and accessibility experts on those rules.

The release names no operator that has applied or been approved, sets no date for the first service, and gives no number of vehicles. "Later this year" is as precise as it gets.

Related on TrustList:

• UK asks for views on safety principles for self-driving vehicles
• Mobileye plans its own robotaxi service starting in 2027

Sources

• GOV.UK (Department for Transport): Passengers one step closer to booking taxi and bus-style self-driving vehicles, 22 May 2026