Sadiq Khan wants a cap on London's robotaxis as Freenow tests 24 Baidu cars in Brent

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for a cap on the number of robotaxis on the city's streets, The Guardian reported on Nov. 1, with the UK government poised to let fully driverless vehicles operate in the capital. "We're lobbying the government for TfL, for London, to have more powers than it currently has on things like automated vehicles," he said, and listed the questions he wants answered first: air quality, congestion, and the livelihoods of private hire and black-cab drivers.

Khan is asking for a power London does not have. Under the current rules for fully autonomous vehicles, TfL can only give or refuse consent for their use in the city; it cannot license or manage robotaxi services. Operators are planning around the national scheme instead, and Khan's record on the same request is thin. "At the moment there's no cap on the number of private hire vehicles or taxis," he said. "We've lobbied for those powers as well."

Freenow's Baidu cars are already on Brent's roads

Khan spoke after Freenow by Lyft, an Uber rival, unveiled the Chinese robotaxis it is testing in London: about 24 Baidu Apollo Go vehicles in the borough of Brent. Freenow hopes to launch them fully driverless as early as next year under the national licensing scheme. Danny O'Gorman, its UK and Ireland general manager, called that framework "great news for us to really invest in the market," but said how the service is regulated once it runs "still needs to be ironed out." Many test trips still need a human to step in, and roadworks are hard for the cars, the Guardian found.

Uber has offered limited rides in Wayve's cars since September, with a safety driver in the front seat and under a TfL licence, and Waymo is also focusing on London. Drivers' unions have protested at Wayve's and Waymo's London headquarters in recent weeks, and a London Assembly committee asked last month for TfL to be able to issue permits and cap vehicle numbers once full regulations take effect in 2027. "London isn't San Francisco," Khan said. "We're a city of almost 10 million, 400 villages, narrow roads."

Freenow is pitching drivers a place in the system. O'Gorman said a large share of displaced taxi drivers could work in remote operations and servicing at the purpose-built AV depot it promises in the UK. He argued robotaxis will take a long time to threaten black cabs, whose bigger problems are expensive vehicles and an ageing trade: two-thirds of drivers are over 50 and retiring.

London's other drivers are a test of their own. "You get beeped at a lot for following the speed limit," O'Gorman said.