Wayve, Uber and Nissan have become the latest organizations to join the Partners for Automated Vehicle Education United Kingdom (PAVE UK) initiative, which aims to ensure the responsible future deployment of automated vehicles across the UK
Wayve and Uber plan to deploy autonomous vehicles in London this year in an initial trial that hopes to increase public engagement and understanding of the technology.
Prof. Siddartha Khastgir, the director of PAVE UK and head of safe autonomy at WMG, University of Warwick, said, “We are proud to welcome Wayve, Nissan UK and Uber as the new PAVE UK members. Through this significant partnership, we will open the floor for two-way conversations with the public, bridging the communication gap between the technology and the general public. This demonstrates our collective commitment to enabling safer, publicly endorsed self-driving technology in the UK.”
Established in 2024, PAVE UK is an initiative focused on public education and engagement around self-driving technology. Co-founded by the Department for Transport, the Department for Business and Trade, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), Transport for West Midlands and WMG at the University of Warwick, it develops evidence-based educational programs and interactive experiences.
Sarah Gates, vice president of global affairs, legal and assurance at Wayve, commented, “Introducing autonomous rides in London to the public later this year builds on Britain’s heritage for transport innovation. Getting it right matters, and initiatives like PAVE UK are how the industry advances autonomy transparently – educating the public and building the trust that turns a new technology into something people rely on every day.”
PAVE UK communicates safety to the general public, including the benefits and limits of this new transportation technology. It also develops principles of responsible self-driving vehicle deployment, such as the role of safety operators in initial trials. Scientifically backed education and engagement activities are developed by PAVE UK to enable the general public to understand the new technology.
David Moss, senior vice president of research and development at Nissan Africa, Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania (AMIEO), added, “At our technical center in the UK, we are proud of our pioneering projects such as HumanDrive, ServCity and evolvAD that show the exciting real-world potential of autonomous driving. Our partnership with PAVE UK is the next step, raising public engagement and trust so that people are ready to embrace this fantastic technology as it becomes reality.”
Alex Zelubowski, UK head of autonomous mobility operations at Uber, said, “At Uber, safety is front and center of everything we do. Communities and cities have to be part of the conversation from the start if we’re going to realize the long-term benefits of autonomous technology. This collaboration with PAVE UK is an important step in bringing AVs to London’s streets safely and responsibly.”
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