Up to 30% of taxi and private hire journeys in the capital could be served by autonomous vehicle (AV) ride-sharing in London by 2025.

AV ridesharing could be used for up to 30% of taxi and private hire journeys by 2025.

That’s one of the findings of a consortium which has won Innovate UK funding to develop plans for a London pilot where AVs integrate with public transport.

According to the MERGE Greenwich consortium – a group of six partners led by Addison Lee and including Ford, TRL, Transport Systems Catapult – one in seven of London’s overall journeys, by any form of transport, could be made by autonomous ride-sharing within eight years.

The project is currently working on a future business and operating model to integrate AVs, ride-sharing and existing transport into a multi-modal transport system. From this, the next stage could be conducting real-world testing to see how AV ride-sharing services could contribute to and enhance the new mobility vision for London.For more of the latest industry news, click here.