‘We’re not there yet’: The world’s best taxi drivers don’t think AI-powered robotaxis are ready for London’s streets

It can be liberating for passengers, and even those who would normally be behind the wheel, to finally relax on a long drive in the age of autonomous vehicles. But does it make up for peace of mind?

Right now, London’s black cab drivers, who apparently are the best in the world, just don’t think so.

One black cab driver, who had to pass the “Knowledge of London” — mastering 320 routes and thousands of streets and landmarks within a six-mile radius of Charing Cross — said that although technology is evolving, “we’re not there yet”, according to a Euro News report.

While the world’s best taxi drivers aren’t convinced, robotaxis are set to join the city’s streets this year, whether they like it or not. Soon, London commuters will experience Uber robotaxis in the city’s streets powered by UK-based startup Wayve’s AI Driver, a software licensed to automakers that enables them to customise driving models for their brand.

Although current UK regulations do require a safety operator sitting behind the wheel to intervene when necessary.

Wayve CEO Alex Kendall described autonomous driving as “one of the most complex engineering problems we have today”. However, he added that the good news is: “AI provides a way to develop a level of intelligence that means we can drive anywhere with mass-market hardware.”

Wayve’s model is said to be unlike previous self-driving cars that rely on pre-mapped routes but is trained with huge amounts of driving data allowing it to make decisions like human drivers would.

As human error remains the top cause of traffic collisions, supporters of the tech argue that autonomy could ultimately improve road safety. Still, the question of whether autonomy can make up for peace of mind remains. /TISG

Read also: UK-based startup Wayve raises US$1.5B to license AI driver software and pursue high-margin software revenues