Government consults public on self-driving vehicles

The government is asking the public and industry to share their views on autonomous vehicles being used for passenger transport. The consultation, which was launched by future of roads minister Lilian Greenwood, will inform and shape laws regulating self-driving vehicle passenger services, such as taxis, private hires and buses.

The government has also published a draft statutory instrument setting out how these vehicles will be regulated, with safety, innovation and accessibility being key elements.

This comes as the government has sped up its plans to begin piloting self-driving vehicles on the road, aiming to launch the first pilots in spring 2026. The pilot will see firms being able to pilot small-scale self-driving services, bookable via an app. Once the Automated Vehicles Act is fully implemented during the course of 2027, the government plans for a potential wider roll-out. The act requires self-driving vehicles to achieve a safety level on par with, or higher than, competent and careful human drivers.

Commenting on the launch of the consultation, Lilian Greenwood said autonomous vehicles “are one of the most exciting opportunities to improve transport for so many people, especially those in rural areas or unable to drive. We want to work with passengers and industry to make this new form of transport safe and accessible as we take our next steps towards adoption”.

“This technology doesn’t just have the potential to improve transport for millions of people. It will help stimulate innovation, create thousands of jobs and drive investment to put more money in people’s pockets – all part of delivering our Plan for Change,” she said.

“Through the consultation, representative groups, industry stakeholders, trade unions and members of the public will be able to make their views heard and influence future government policy over a variety of areas critical for self-driving vehicles to run safely and efficiently.”

As part of the consultation, the government wants views on how self-driving vehicles can be made accessible for disabled and older people, how councils can approve self-driving services and the threshold for when a permit to operate these vehicles should be suspended or withdrawn.

The government launched its Automated Vehicles Act implementation programme in 2024, working on creating secondary legislation and guidance to establish a regulatory framework and protect consumers by ensuring only vehicles authorised under the framework can be marketed as such. Pilots of self-driving vehicles have been going on since 2015, with companies such as Wayve and Oxa driving the development.

Oxa CEO Gavin Jackson said that as the first company to trial autonomous vehicles on the roads, he is “delighted to see the UK continuing to progress towards making automated vehicle services a commercial reality”, adding: “The automated passenger scheme [APS] will enable the deployment of innovative public transport services that will augment our current transport network, making it easier and more accessible than ever to get around.”