Self-driving taxis and “bus-like” autonomous vehicles could soon be carrying passengers across the UK, as the Department for Transport (DfT) fast-tracks plans for public trials beginning in spring 2026.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announced today (10 June 2025) that the move could create up to 38,000 jobs, improve road safety, and boost the economy by billions of pounds.

The government also stressed that regulation and road safety will be the key priorities of the pilots under the Automated Vehicles Act.

By introducing self-driving vehicles, the government believe this could significantly reduce the number of road collisions, highlighting that 88% of accidents are caused via human error.  

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “The future of transport is arriving. Self-driving cars could bring jobs, investment, and the opportunity for the UK to be among the world-leaders in new technology.” 

Companies such as Wayve and Oxa have already been trialling self-driving vehicles in the UK since January 2015 and both welcomed the announcement.  

Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO, Wayve said: “These early pilots will help build public trust and unlock new jobs, services, and markets.

“For Wayve, this means we can prioritise the UK for early deployment and help deliver safer, cleaner mobility to the UK. We’re excited to bring the benefits of L4 autonomous mobility to cities around the UK.”

Uber also welcomed the announcement with Sarfraz Maredia, Head of Autonomous Mobility and Delivery at Uber commenting the company has recently appointed a dedicated leader for our UK autonomous efforts.

 “We look forward to working with regulators and partners to deploy this technology safely in Britain,” he added.