Britons believe driverless future is on the way to our cities

Britain’s transport authorities may be struggling with regulation of online taxi firms like Uber, but Britons themselves are ready to go a step further and embrace a driverless future, a new survey shows.

Two-thirds of Britons believe that dedicated lanes on roads for driverless technology will be introduced as widespread self-driving cars become a reality, according to a survey carried out ahead of London Tech Week.

As acceptance of driverless cars increases and technology improves cars with human drivers could even be banned, according to 23 per cent of the 2,000 adults surveyed.

Read more: The UK’s driverless car plans just stepped up a gear

London’s transport authorities have already taken bold action to introduce dedicated cycle lanes, but any response to an increase in driverless cars will be a long way off.

Nevertheless, the UK government and Transport for London are taking a big interest in driverless technologies which promise to change the shape of our cities and how we live our lives.

The London Tech Week survey also found the British public believes technology will deliver some more outlandish benefits (if that is the right word) to our lives.

Some 64 per cent believe solar-powered park benches will be used to charge our electronic devices, while 77 per cent think eye-tracking technology will be used to navigate through mobile phone applications.

Read more: UK drivers trust established car firms over tech giants on driverless cars

Meanwhile more than a third of people would trust an unmanned drone taxi as public transport – although only 12 per cent believe flying cars will be widespread.

Professor David Gann, vice president for innovation at Imperial College London, said: “With some of the world’s best creative minds and leading universities, London is at the forefront of innovation. From transport and healthcare to fashion and financial services, technology is changing our cities, the way we work and our everyday lives.”