Calls have been made to suspend the ongoing driverless taxi trial in London due to concerns about a “lack of stakeholder support and unresolved safety fears”.
Brent Green Party claims the autonomous vehicles “do not meet the minimum safety standards” after one car drove into a police cordon in Harlesden last month, says My London.
Waymo launched its London pilot scheme earlier this year with the aim of operating a fully autonomous ‘robotaxi’ service later in 2026.
The vehicles are currently mapping the streets whilst being operated by a safety driver. When the service launches to paying passengers, there will be no human at the wheel.
Waymo’s depot – the company’s first facility of its kind in the UK – is also located in Brent, at a facility in Park Royal that serves as the operational hub for its driverless Jaguar I-Pace fleet. Brent Council described the company’s decision to choose Brent for part of its London operation as “a major vote of confidence” in the borough.
However, the Brent Green Party has now started a petition urging the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, to suspend the trial after a driver went through a live police cordon on Harlesden High Street while officers were investigating a double stabbing. Waymo said the car was in manual mode “with a validation driver in full control”, who has since been suspended pending an investigation.
The party has said that if a similar incident had been committed by a driver of a regular vehicle they “would likely be under investigation and could face criminal prosecution”. It has also raised concerns that the technology is being tested without adequate public consultation, that they will increase congestion – especially if the vehicles are continuously roaming, and take away driving jobs.
Meanwhile, a Waymo car has found itself repeatedly getting stuck on a dead-end road in Shoreditch, east London
Footage shows the white Jaguar SUV attempting to reverse out of the narrow road at 4:15am, mounting the curb as it struggles to turn around. The commotion woke several residents on Elder Street, where through traffic is blocked via a metal gate, according to the Evening Standard.
Residents said the car got itself into difficulties three times on the same road in the space of a week.
A spokesperson for Waymo said:
“As we prepare for fully autonomous operations in London, we want to validate our technology on roads across the city. However, we’ve now limited vehicles’ ability to drive on this street in response to this feedback.”
(Picture: Olga Gonzalez)
