Driverless taxis to launch in Europe by 2021

In news that will surely have the drivers of London's iconic black cabs looking over their shoulders, a British company has vowed to have a fleet of robo-taxis prowling that city's streets by 2021.

British private car firm Addison Lee has partnered with autonomous software experts Oxbotica in a bid to have driverless cabs in London within three years. As it stands, the partnership is currently creating highly detailed maps of some 250,000 miles (400,000kms) of London’s roads.

The regulatory environment for autonomous vehicles is still being worked out globally, but the partnership hopes to first launch autonomous bus shuttles to cary people to and from the airport or the office, with autonomous cabs to follow.

Company bosses said the move would “address congestion, free space used for parking and improve urban air quality” as it rushes to be at the forefront of an industry expected to be worth 28 billion pounds ($51.2b) in the UK alone by 2035.

“This represents a huge leap towards bringing autonomous vehicles into mainstream use on the streets of London, and eventually in cities across the United Kingdom and beyond,” says Oxbotica CEO Graeme Smith.

“Our partnership with Addison Lee Group represents another milestone for the commercial deployment of our integrated autonomous vehicle and fleet management software systems in complex urban transport conditions. Together, we are taking a major step in delivering the future of mobility.”

In Australia, transport experts predict it’s a matter of when, not it, for driverless taxis in our cities.

Government advisory group Infrastructure Victoria recently predicted robo-taxis would arrive in Australia within the next two to seven years, hot on the heels of major breakthroughs in the USA.

“The technology is ready to be deployed in the US, and therefore we say if that’s already being deployed out there, then technically it could be developed over here,” said the group’s chief executive, Michel Masson.

An Infrastructure Victoria report released earlier this year found Driverless cars could deliver a $14.9b lift to the economy every year, and save up to 400 lives every year.

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