Driverless ‘taxis’ could be on the streets of Swindon in two years’ time

Driverless taxis – automated passenger services in the official jargon – could be operating in Swindon, and the rest of the country, as early as 2027, councillors learned.

Members of Swindon Borough Council’s licensing committee received a verbal briefing from the authority’s licensing manager Jason Kirkwood.

He explained that the government is updating its existing licensing legislation to now cover the challenges thrown up by driverless vehicles offering services to passengers, and that it is running a public consultation exercise, asking local authorities their views.

Mr Kirkwood made it plain that the regulation and licensing of such vehicles and services was likely to be driven by Whitehall and not local authorities.

He said: ”The purpose of this is to get regulatory clarity to enable businesses to use automated passenger services, possibly from Spring 2026 for some pilot schemes.

“This is a regulatory route to be able to do this across the UK, with full implementation of the Automated Vehicle Act 2024 in 2026-27 ”

It was clear from what he said that the government wants to be able to allow such services to be introduced should someone want to run one.”

Councillor Dan Adams asked about potential conflict with taxi and private hire drivers: “I can see down the line pushback from the taxi industry, and they might try to leverage the licensing system to try to outlaw these things.”

Mr Kirkwood said it was his belief that the prospect was why the process was being driven by central government.

He added: “The legislation would involve consent from local authorities, but the government is aware that we already have a relationship with taxi drivers and that relationship could be used against this.

“The overall oversight of these services would be by the DVSA, the central government agency, but with input from local authorities.”

Chairman of the committee, Councillor John Ballman said: “How on earth will things like an MOT inspection be done? You wouldn’t be taking one of these vehicles to the local garage.”

Mr Kirkwood said the consultation threw up many questions: how much would a driverless vehicle cost, what is the supporting infrastructure needed for one, would individuals be able to afford one, or would they be aimed at companies?

Cllr Ballman said: “There’s food for thought. We’ll come back to this next year.”

The agenda item follows soon after a video purporting to show a driverless Tesla, albeit with a passenger’s hands very close to the steering wheel, piloting itself around the Magic Roundabout.

That video was referenced by the committee, with comments on how close the passenger’s hands were to the wheel, to the fact that the car does not appear to negotiate much of the roundabout complex. Cllr Ballman said he suspected the entire video was AI-generated.

The members noted Mr Kirkwood’s report and he asked that if they had any comments for the government, they should pass them to him to make the council’s consolidated response.