This has been coming for some time now. Back in 2018/19 I was working on similar projects with the Quality Team at McLaren Applied.
The insights that I gained into functional safety requirements and the rigorous processes that are set out made me realise that this is no small feat.
Notwithstanding the infrastructure for servicing and fuelling/recharging that this fleet will require (we were planning for a car to take itself for servicing around once a month).
Outside of the safety and compliance aspects there are social and economic factors too. TFL figures say that there are around 700 fewer black cabs on London streets than this time last year, so will this number start to rise year on year?
That being said, will driverless cars offer a more comfortable or intimidating environment for people with sensory impairment or mobility issues?
We can’t stop progress but maybe we have a responsibility to ensure that progress is suitable for the environment it serves.