The honest answer is that nobody can give a firm date yet. Here is where the rules stand in October 2026, what has to happen before a driverless taxi can carry passengers between our three cities, and why London is going first.

The law exists, but most of it isn’t switched on yet

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 became law on 20 May 2024 (GOV.UK). It sets out how self-driving vehicles will be approved, who is responsible for them and how they will be policed in Great Britain. But an Act of Parliament only takes effect when its sections are brought into force, and most of this one hasn’t been yet. The government says the remaining provisions are due to come into force in late 2027 (DfT guidance for applicants), with full implementation intended for the second half of 2027 (DfT guidance for local authorities).

A faster route for pilot services

In June 2025 the government said it would bring forward pilots of “taxi- and bus-like” services without a safety driver by a year, to spring 2026, ahead of a potential wider rollout once the full Act is in force (GOV.UK, 10 June 2025).

The rules that make those pilots possible, the Automated Vehicles (Permits for Automated Passenger Services) Regulations 2026, came into force on 15 May 2026 (legislation.gov.uk). Applications opened on 22 May 2026, and the government said passengers “could” book journeys through operators later in the year (GOV.UK, 22 May 2026).

Under this automated passenger services (APS) scheme, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) assesses permit applications on behalf of the Transport Secretary. Separately, the vehicle has to be assessed by the Vehicle Certification Agency as able to drive itself safely and legally. The government expects that, at first, approval will be limited to an “operational design domain”: a list of streets or a town, for example, or particular conditions such as “not in snow” (DfT guidance). A permit can last for up to five years (APS Regulations 2026).

Local consent matters, and so do council boundaries

For a service that resembles a taxi or private hire vehicle, every taxi and private hire licensing authority in whose area it would run has to give consent. Once DVSA asks, the authority has six weeks to respond. Taxi- and private hire-like services under the scheme apply in England only (DfT guidance).

That matters for journeys between cities. The government’s guidance says a cross-border service needs consent from every authority it passes through, and adds plainly: “We do not expect deployments in the pilot period to be cross-boundary” (DfT guidance). A York to Leeds or Leeds to Manchester trip crosses several council areas, so routes like these are unlikely to be among the first pilots.

What is actually running today

The UK’s first public robotaxi rides began in London on 3 September 2026. Uber and Wayve launched supervised trips in electric Ford Mustang Mach-E cars, with a trained, TfL-licensed private hire driver on board to oversee every journey (Uber press release). The BBC reported that the service started with 15 licensed vehicles (BBC News). These rides run under existing private hire licensing, not the new APS permits (The Guardian).

Fully driverless services are taking longer. In late August 2026, The Guardian reported that no vehicles had yet been approved by DVSA. Transport for London said it understood no operator had completed the first stage, registering vehicles with the Vehicle Certification Agency, and that it had received no applications for its consent (The Guardian). A Department for Transport spokesperson told the BBC it was working towards a framework so that self-driving cars could be on the roads in 2027, without giving a specific date (BBC News).

So what about Yorkshire and Greater Manchester?

As of 2 October 2026, we have not found any announced plans for driverless taxi pilots in York, Leeds or Manchester. For that to change, an operator would need three things:

  • a vehicle assessed as able to drive itself safely in the local conditions;
  • consent from each licensing authority on the route, for example City of York Council, Leeds City Council or Manchester City Council;
  • an APS permit from DVSA.

Realistically, wider services in the North look more likely after the main parts of the Act come into force, which the government expects in the second half of 2027. Even then, the timing will depend on the vehicles available, the approvals granted and decisions made by local councils.

Where YA Transit fits in

YA Transit is a pre-launch company. We don’t have a launch date, and we will only carry passengers once suitable vehicles are available and every approval we need is in place. If you travel between York, Leeds and Manchester, our route survey helps us understand which journeys matter most to you.

Sources

  1. GOV.UK: Self-driving vehicles set to be on roads by 2026 as Automated Vehicles Act becomes law (20 May 2024)
  2. GOV.UK: Pilots of self-driving vehicles fast-tracked (10 June 2025)
  3. GOV.UK: Passengers one step closer to booking taxi and bus-style self-driving vehicles (22 May 2026)
  4. legislation.gov.uk: The Automated Vehicles (Permits for Automated Passenger Services) Regulations 2026
  5. GOV.UK: Automated passenger service permits: local authority and transport body roles (31 March 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: Self-driving vehicle pilot scheme: information for applicants
  7. Uber: Wayve and Uber launch first-ever autonomous rides in the UK (3 September 2026)
  8. BBC News: Uber launches UK’s first robotaxis with a driver (3 September 2026)
  9. The Guardian: London rollout of robotaxis delayed amid lack of guidance for firms to follow (26 August 2026)

All sources checked on 2 October 2026. Things are moving quickly; if you spot something out of date, email hello@yatransit.co.uk.