---
title: "Noted on 5 Nov 2026"
author: Marc Roberts
date: 2026-11-05
url: https://www.marcroberts.info/notes/2026-11-05-cap-robotaxis-numbers-in-london/
---

# Noted on 5 Nov 2026

Sadiq Khan wants the power to cap how many robotaxis can run in London. He told the Guardian earlier this month that "London isn't San Francisco", and pointed out that there's no cap on private hire vehicles or taxis either, which City Hall has also lobbied for.

At the moment TfL's say over a driverless taxi service is a single yes or no. When an operator applies for a permit, TfL has six weeks to refuse, in writing and with reasons, or its consent is taken as given. Wayve and Uber have been carrying paying passengers since September, with a safety driver in the front seat. Waymo is testing here too, and Freenow by Lyft has about 24 Baidu cars on the road in Brent and hopes to go driverless next year. Nobody has a permit to run one without a driver yet. Waymo's next vehicle is a Toyota, which it will test in Japan from 2027 before bringing it to the UK.

I can see why a cap appeals. It's simple to set and easy to check, and London already has more than 100,000 licensed private hire drivers with no limit on how many there can be. Counting cars only gets you so far on congestion, though. How many miles they drive empty, and where they wait between fares, matter at least as much. The London Assembly's report last month asked for empty miles to be a core measure, and for caps by area rather than one number for the whole city.

Where they wait is the part I'd watch most closely. A robotaxi between fares is a car looking for somewhere to stop. In California, Waymo rents 40 spaces in station car parks to hold its cars, and Freenow is promising a purpose-built depot here. But most of London's kerb belongs to the 33 boroughs, so even with a cap set at City Hall, each borough would still be deciding (or not deciding) what happens on its own streets.

A question for borough parking and highways teams: if driverless taxis start running in your area next year, where do you expect them to wait between fares?