Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the regulatory changes required to enable the commercial deployment of autonomous ride-hailing services at scale in the UK, similar to those operating in cities including San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (the Act) sets the foundation for enabling the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles on roads in Great Britain with full implementation of the Act planned for the second half of 2027.

Earlier this year, government announced the decision to accelerate implementation of the Automated Passenger Services permitting scheme to Spring 2026. This permitting scheme can help to facilitate pilots of commercial self-driving passenger services with no safety driver, from spring 2026. Any companies looking to deploy their vehicles will need to meet safety requirements and gain local authority consent.

The deployment of these services as self-driving vehicles is enabled through the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018. To be seen as self-driving, the vehicle must, in the opinion of the Secretary of State for Transport, be capable of safely driving themselves without human oversight or intervention for some or all of journey.

The Vehicle Certification Agency will undertake the assessment, on behalf of the Secretary of State, to assess whether a vehicle is capable of driving itself without human intervention.