Addison Lee to pilot autonomous ride-sharing in London by 2021
A consortium led by Addison Lee has won funding from the Government to trial autonomous vehicle ride-sharing services in London by 2021.
The consortium, which also includes Oxbotica, DG Cities, Nominet and Immense Simulations, has secured an £8.84m grant from the Government’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicle 4 (CAV4) programme to introduce 15 autonomous vehicles in the capital from 2021, designed to support areas which are poorly served by existing public transport.
The overall £15m investment will see the consortium roll out four AV pilots using 15 autonomous vehicles. Designed to complement existing public transport, the service will be app-based, on demand and based on ride-sharing. Addison Lee added that the vehicles will be “low-emission, designed with the pedestrian in mind and priced at a level to generate demand without impacting other public transport”.
Paul McCabe, Addison Lee Group’s corporate development director, said: “The Addison Lee-led consortium will help quickly realise many of the benefits we envisage in bringing autonomous vehicles onto the streets of London – better mobility for its people, enhanced public transport, cleaner air and safer streets.”