{"id":1887129,"date":"2026-04-17T08:35:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T05:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1887129"},"modified":"2026-04-17T08:35:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T05:35:28","slug":"end-of-the-road-for-cab-drivers-the-clocks-ticking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1887129","title":{"rendered":"End of the road for cab drivers: the clock\u2019s ticking"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"articleItem\">\n<p>    {&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Article&#8221;,&#8221;image&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/autonomous_taxis.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;mainEntityOfPage&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;WebPage&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/car-news\/industry-news\/autonomous-taxis\/&#8221;},&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/car-news\/industry-news\/autonomous-taxis\/&#8221;,&#8221;author&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Ben Oliver&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Ben Oliver has been a leading writer for CAR magazine for two decades, bringing an authority to his subject matter, whether heu2019s interviewing a CEO for our news pages or scaling a Himalayan mountain for one of our fu00EAted drive stories.nBen is fascinated by cars, the industry and car culture u2013 and owns our car of the 1980s, a glorious Peugeot 205 GTI, among other joys tucked away in his garage.nFollow Ben on Twitter here and his exploits on Instagram here.&#8221;,&#8221;image&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/car-assets.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/14260\/benoliver1.jpeg&#8221;,&#8221;caption&#8221;:&#8221;Ben Oliver&#8221;},&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:[&#8220;https:\/\/x.com\/thebenoliver&#8221;,&#8221;https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thebenoliver\/&#8221;],&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/author\/ben-oliver\/&#8221;},&#8221;dateModified&#8221;:&#8221;2026-04-17T09:35:28+01:00&#8243;,&#8221;datePublished&#8221;:&#8221;2026-04-17T09:35:28+01:00&#8243;,&#8221;headline&#8221;:&#8221;End of the road for cab drivers: the clocku2019s ticking&#8221;,&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Organization&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Bauer Media&#8221;,&#8221;brand&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Organization&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Car Magazine&#8221;},&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/car-assets.bauersecure.com\/images\/logos\/car.200&#215;88.png&#8221;}}}<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"column xlarge-10 xlarge-push-2\">\n<header>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEnd of the road for cab drivers: the clock\u2019s ticking<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<div class=\"hide-for-xlarge-up\">\n<div class=\"compact-author-info\">\n\tBy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/author\/ben-oliver\/\">Ben Oliver<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"dates\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dates__date\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPublished: Today 09:35<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"cms-content\">\n<div class=\"in-page-gallery full-width thumbnails-bullets\">\n<ul class=\"carousel\" data-orbit=\"true\" data-options=\"bullets: true; resume_on_mouseout: false; timer: false; variable_height: true; slide_number: false\">\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/autonomous_taxis.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/car-assets.bauersecure.com\/images\/1056x594\/transparent.png\" alt=\"Autonomous Taxis\" data-interchange=\"[https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/480x270\/autonomous_taxis.jpg, (default)], [https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/720x405\/autonomous_taxis.jpg, (medium)], [https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/1056x594\/autonomous_taxis.jpg, (large)]\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption orbit-caption\">\n<div>Autonomous Taxis<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/autonomous_taxis_2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/car-assets.bauersecure.com\/images\/1056x594\/transparent.png\" alt=\"End of the road for cab drivers: the clock\u2019s ticking\" data-interchange=\"[https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/480x270\/autonomous_taxis_2.jpg, (default)], [https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/720x405\/autonomous_taxis_2.jpg, (medium)], [https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/1056x594\/autonomous_taxis_2.jpg, (large)]\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articleContent\">\n<div class=\"bold-links\">\n<p><strong>\u25ba Wayve and Verne under the microscope<br \/>\u25ba It\u2019s all about the AI running them<br \/>\u25ba Can they really take over from the taxi driver?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What do autonomous taxis have in common with those controlled by conventional meat-based algorithms? Both habitually claim to be just around the corner: one physically, the other metaphorically. So you might reasonably be cynical about the recent announcements that both Google\u2019s Waymo and London-based Wayve will bring self-driving cabs to London this year.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of when they actually show up, note that it\u2019s two tech firms doing this, and not two car makers. Driverless cars are not about the car. You can design something free of the constraints of a steering wheel and pedals, as Mate Rimac has for his Verne project. But an adapted EV will do perfectly well, as Waymo\u2019s many Jaguar iPaces prove. Nor is it about the sensors: more confident, reductionist systems like Wayve\u2019s can find their way with just a few relatively cheap cameras.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mpu-inject hide-for-medium-up\">\n<div class=\"mpu-ad advert\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mpu-inject show-for-medium-up hide-for-xlarge-up\">\n<div class=\"mpu-ad advert\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>Like this? Get more CAR delivered to your browser!\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=carmagazine.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em><strong>Click here to add CAR Magazine as a preferred source on Google<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Instead, it\u2019s all about the AI. Hybrid systems like Waymo\u2019s combine artificial intelligence with conventional code and high-definition maps, and can demonstrate to law makers that they will stop at a stop sign because they have been told to. The autonomous American trucking firm Aurora takes a similar approach, and refers to it as \u2018verifiable AI\u2019. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/480x0\/autonomous_taxis_2.jpg?scale=down\" alt class=\"wp-image-260210\" data-interchange=\"[https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/480x0\/autonomous_taxis_2.jpg?scale=down, (default)], [https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/720x0\/autonomous_taxis_2.jpg?scale=down, (medium)], [https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/1040x0\/autonomous_taxis_2.jpg?scale=down, (large)]\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Wayve\u2019s \u2018end-to-end\u2019 system is very different: a black box takes in all the sensor data and outputs driving instructions without reference to rules or maps. You can\u2019t show regulators that you have told it to stop at stop signs, but you can prove in simulations and on the road that it will. Wayve argues that its single neural network is seamless and smarter and, like a human driver, can drive pretty much anywhere once it has learned the local rules.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mpu-inject hide-for-medium-up\">\n<div class=\"mpu-ad advert\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>There\u2019s beef between proponents of the two system types over safety, transparency and applicability, but the governments who control their fate don\u2019t seem to care much about the difference, or to have figured out a driving test for them. Nor are they likely to. The big tech firms have found autonomous driving among the toughest of all the nuts they\u2019ve tried to crack.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mpu-inject show-for-medium-up hide-for-xlarge-up\">\n<div class=\"mpu-ad advert\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>These trials serve a double purpose. Like any other young driver, AI needs to learn on the road before it can be given a licence. Wayve already tests extensively in London, but with safety drivers aboard and ready to take over, and without paying passengers. It will learn more from operating commercially, wholly autonomously and with a much bigger fleet, while the government gets to test empirically the safety which it can\u2019t or won\u2019t assess in the lab. As in China and the US, it also gets to devolve the decision to permit driverless cabs to the local authority, in this case Transport for London. Central government can watch how it goes before formulating national policy, and can blame London mayor Sadiq Khan if it doesn\u2019t go well.<\/p>\n<p>If this seems an incredibly lax way to regulate driverless cars \u2013 turn a few loose and see if they kill anyone \u2013 it is at least highly self-policing. One bad crash killed GM\u2019s Cruise self-driving project, and firms like Wayve, which rely on investors\u2019 cash and confidence, won\u2019t go driverless in full public view until they\u2019re sure they\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mpu-inject hide-for-medium-up\">\n<div class=\"mpu-ad advert\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<aside class=\"about-author\">\n<h2 class=\"about-author-heading\">About the author<\/h2>\n<div class=\"about-author-inner\">\n<div class=\"main-author-summary-container\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"main-author-image\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/author\/ben-oliver\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/14260\/120x120\/benoliver1.jpeg?quality=90)\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"main-author-name-container\">\n<div class=\"main-author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/author\/ben-oliver\/\">Ben Oliver<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"main-author-job-title\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"main-author-byline\">Ben is one of the most respected voices in the motoring space and writes for a number of titles in the UK and at leading automotive publications around the world.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"column show-for-xlarge-up xlarge-2 xlarge-pull-10\">\n<figure class=\"author-info clearfix\">\n<p>\t\t\t<a class=\"author-image\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/author\/ben-oliver\/\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/14260\/85x85\/benoliver1.jpeg?quality=90)\"><\/a><figcaption>\n<p class=\"author-name\">\n\t\t\tBy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/author\/ben-oliver\/\">Ben Oliver<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"author-quote\">Contributing editor, watch connoisseur, purveyor of fine features<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div 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data-elem=\"close\"><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Article&#8221;,&#8221;image&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/car-images.bauersecure.com\/wp-images\/257472\/autonomous_taxis.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;mainEntityOfPage&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;WebPage&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/car-news\/industry-news\/autonomous-taxis\/&#8221;},&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.carmagazine.co.uk\/car-news\/industry-news\/autonomous-taxis\/&#8221;,&#8221;author&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Ben Oliver&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Ben Oliver has been a leading writer for CAR magazine for two decades, bringing an authority to his subject matter, whether heu2019s interviewing a CEO for our news pages or scaling a Himalayan mountain for one of our fu00EAted drive stories.nBen is fascinated by cars, the industry and car culture u2013 and owns our 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