The trials are part of the £8m GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) project to research the use, perception and acceptance of autonomous vehicles in the UK. The project is one of the three winners of funding from Innovate UK’s competition on ‘Introducing driverless cars to UK roads’, joined by UK Autodrive in Coventry and Milton Keynes, and Venturer in Bristol.

Members of the public chosen to be part of the trials will be given the chance to ride in a driverless vehicle and asked to provide their views about the experience. Some participants may also be invited to share their views in interviews before and after using a vehicle. 

In addition, members of the public can also register to take part in workshops to help envision the future of driverless vehicles.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid commented: “Making driverless cars a reality is going to revolutionise our roads and travel, making journeys safer, faster, and more environmentally-friendly. Very few countries can match our engineering excellence in the automotive sector or our record on innovative research, and this announcement shows we are already becoming one of the world’s leading centres for driverless cars technology.”

For more information or to register your interest in participating in workshops or trials visit: https://www.gateway-project.org.uk/get-involved/. Numbers are limited so participation cannot be guaranteed.

Members of the public with experience or knowledge of Greenwich are also invited to share their views on driverless vehicles via a web-based sentiment mapping tool.  To get involved in the online discussion visit: https://gateway.commonplace.is/comment