London cabbies go to war with driverless cars over electric charging bays

"London's taxi drivers have clashed with driverless car firm Waymo after its vehicles were caught hogging electric charging bays meant exclusively for black cabs. Cab groups report numerous instances of Waymo's electric cars plugging in at dedicated e-taxi points, forcing Transport for London to step in. Representatives from the industry say frustrated taxi drivers have taken matters into their own hands by cancelling the robocars' charging sessions."

"Steve McNamara, of the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said he was aware of a handful of incidents and claimed that in at least one case a taxi driver had pressed a cancel button on the charge point. "I share the frustration. It's the equivalent of me parking cabs on petrol pumps and saying you can't go to work," he told The Telegraph."

"TfL told the group: "The company has been very apologetic and has taken some robust action. It has also put in place some further, practical measures to prevent these vehicles using taxi-dedicated points." Waymo said it had raised the issue with the third-party company whose workers operate its robocar fleet. "We take our responsibility to be a good member of London's transport network very seriously, and we apologise to the taxi drivers whose charging needs were temporarily disrupted," the company said."

Driverless cars operated by Waymo have been occupying electric charging bays reserved exclusively for London's black cabs, leading cab groups to report multiple incidents. Frustrated taxi drivers have reportedly cancelled robocars' charging sessions and in at least one instance pressed a cancel button on a charge point. Licensed Taxi Drivers Association expressed equivalent frustration to petrol pumps being blocked. United Cabbies Group formally complained to Transport for London, which said Waymo apologised and implemented practical measures. Waymo said the issue stemmed from its third-party operations partner and that corrective policies were implemented to prevent recurrence.

Read at www.standard.co.uk