Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of autonomous passenger services on traffic congestion, including the proportion of vehicle mileage undertaken without passengers.

During the piloting phase, the congestion impact of automated passenger services has been assessed by the Department to likely be small, as the number of vehicles is expected to be small relative to the total number of passenger services.

Any future congestion impacts will depend on the overall uptake of automated vehicles in the coming years. This technology is expected to be deployed gradually, and overall uptake will depend on a range of factors, including operators being able to meet GB’s high regulatory standards, commercial deployment models, local consent for automated passenger services and the capability of the technology.

The piloting period will provide a valuable learning opportunity to understand the early impacts of automated vehicles on our roads.