Taxi drivers will no doubt be very interested to read that driverless taxis may be trialled in the UK next year. If you are a taxi driver, whether you are employed by someone or have your own business, this may concern some of you as it could possibly affect your business income.

Apparently, robotaxis from China may be trialled in the UK in 2026. It has been announced that Baidu has partnered with Lyft and Uber who provide ride-sharing apps with a view to trialling the technology. It is hoped that the trials will take place in London.

It has been announced that a pilot scheme may start in the spring of 2026 trialling such driverless taxis. Apparently, such a scheme has the support of the government here in the UK.

This may all sound well and good to some people but there would appear to be some concern from the likes of members of the public about the introduction of driverless taxis as they are concerned about the safety of such vehicles. Quite a lot of people may need convincing to use such taxis feeling that it is much safer to be taken to a venue in a conventional taxi that is driven by a man or woman.

Is it sensible to conduct such a trial in the capital city of England with so many other vehicles on the road system and many pedestrians walking about either to work, shopping or touring London? Would it not be better to carry out such a pilot in a smaller location such as a town in the UK?

It will also be interesting to see just how quickly a driverless taxi reacts to a sudden build up of traffic. Will they have the technology available to make a quick diversion when there is a rapid build up of traffic on route? After all, London taxi drivers have built up a commendable reputation of knowing the road system in London thus being able to quickly take an alternative route to avoid a jam of traffic ahead.

Having said that, who knows, in say 5 or 10 years time will we be looking back and admitting that driverless taxis have proven to be as safe as taxis driven by humans and are also cost effective. Needless to say, we will endeavor to keep our readers up to date with developments.

It will also be interesting to see what has to be arranged with regard to arranging driverless taxi insurance. For instance, will premiums be higher, lower or similar to premiums to insure a driven taxi?