No autonomous vehicles currently meet TfL taxi and private hire licensing standards, says TfL Commissioner
- Perry Richardson
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
No autonomous vehicles are currently capable of meeting Transport for London’s (TfL) private hire licensing requirements, leaving the prospect of fully driverless passenger services in the capital some way off, senior officials confirmed at a London Assembly Transport Committee session.
Speaking before the London Assembly, Andy Lord, Commissioner of Transport for London, said that while autonomous vehicles can legally operate on UK roads in limited contexts, none are currently able to carry paying passengers under London’s existing taxi and private hire licensing regime.
“Autonomous vehicles are allowed on London’s roads today, but what we’re talking about at the minute is, can they be used for private hire and carriage of people for a charge,” Lord said. “They would have to meet the licensing and regulation requirements of that. Currently no driverless vehicle can do that as it stands.”
The clarification places a regulatory barrier in front of any near-term commercial deployment of driverless taxis in London, despite rapid advancements and pilot programmes seen in cities elsewhere, particularly in the United States.
Deputy Mayor and TfL Commissioner outline regulatory gaps, safety concerns and uncertainty over future AV passenger services in the capital
Responsibility for authorising autonomous vehicles on public roads sits with the Department for Transport, but any paid passenger service would fall under TfL’s jurisdiction. Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance emphasised this division of powers and the current absence of any such services.
“Passenger service, that is people paying to access and use an autonomous vehicle, that would be under the remit of TfL, and currently are no passenger services,” Dance said. He added that any future operations “would need to be regulated under the private hire and taxi scheme that TfL already has”.
The discussion highlighted the early-stage nature of autonomous vehicle deployment in the UK, with both City Hall and TfL adopting a cautious stance as national legislation evolves. While the technology is advancing, policymakers remain focused on safety, regulatory control and broader societal impacts.
Dance acknowledged that autonomous vehicles could offer potential benefits, including reduced reliance on private car ownership and improved road safety outcomes. However, he warned that these advantages remain unproven.
“The technology is extremely new, and although the operators, the developers, I should say, are at pains to point out the good statistics, an awful lot of work needs to be done to determine whether or not they do have a net benefit on safety,” he said.
Concerns were also raised about the possible negative consequences of widespread AV adoption, including increased congestion and the impact on employment within the taxi and private hire sector. Assembly Member Hina Bokhari pointed to emerging business models abroad, including claims that some operators offer free services to wheelchair users, potentially altering the competitive landscape.
Bokhari warned that such developments could pose a “massive threat” to London’s black cab trade, which is currently required to meet strict accessibility standards. She called for an urgent review into automation and its potential market impacts.
In response, Dance pointed to the Mayor’s recently announced AI task force as the primary mechanism for assessing both risks and opportunities associated with emerging technologies, including autonomous vehicles.
“I think the opportunities as yet remain unproven, and the AI task force is the principal forum by which the mayor is assessing and analysing the various impacts that AI might have,” he said.
Accessibility emerged as a key theme during the session, with calls for greater engagement with disabled communities to understand how autonomous transport could affect mobility and inclusion. Dance agreed on the importance of consultation, noting that disabled users’ needs are diverse and must be properly considered in any future deployment.
“It’s absolutely essential, as you say, that we have full and proper engagement with a whole range of communities, including, of course, disabled people,” he said.
From a regulatory perspective, TfL outlined several priority areas in its response to a recent Department for Transport consultation on autonomous vehicles. Lord said the submission covered multiple themes, including safety, congestion, environmental impact, enforcement and cost recovery.
“We’ve been very clear safety comes first,” he said. “There could be potential safety benefits. There could be disbenefits. We don’t know yet.”
He also flagged concerns about preserving London’s devolved transport powers, warning that future national legislation must not override TfL’s authority in regulating services within the capital.
“There is a risk here, depending how the Government introduced this, that actually the Department for Transport would have greater regulation on autonomous vehicles than TfL currently has,” Lord said. “We need to be really clear this doesn’t cut across around London’s devolution powers.”
Operational considerations remain unresolved, particularly around enforcement and compliance. TfL stressed the need for a robust regulatory framework that ensures any future AV services can be monitored effectively and do not impose additional financial burdens on the authority.
“We’ve got to be able to enforce and manage these vehicles going forward, if they are being used for commercial purposes,” Lord added. “We need to be able to recover those costs.”
Current trials in the UK are limited in scope and do not include commercial passenger services. Lord confirmed that TfL is not directly involved in any ongoing trials and is seeking further clarity from government on how testing will inform future licensing decisions.
“There is no trial involving TfL,” he said. “The trials are around how autonomous vehicles drive on the road. There’s no trial around any form of commercial use that I’m aware of or that we’re involved with.”
The absence of real-world commercial trials in London adds another layer of uncertainty for policymakers and industry stakeholders, particularly around how data from existing tests will translate into regulatory frameworks for passenger services.
