Automated Vehicles: Consultation Paper 2 on Passenger Services and Public Transport A joint consultation paper Law Commission Scottish Law Commission Consultation Paper 245 Discussion Paper 169 Law Commission Consultation Paper No 245 Scottish Law Commission Discussion Paper No 169 Automated Vehicles: Consultation Paper 2 on Passenger Services and Public Transport A joint consultation paper 16 October 2019 © Crown copyright 2019 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/version/3. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/automated-vehicles/ and at https://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/publications. THE LAW COMMISSION – HOW WE CONSULT Topic of this consultation: The Centre for Connected and Automated Vehicles (CCAV) has asked the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission to examine options for regulating automated road vehicles. It is a three-year project running from 2018 to 2021. Our first consultation paper considered safety assurance together with civil and criminal liability. This paper discusses the regulation of Highly Automated Road Passenger Services (HARPS). We have coined the term HARPS to encapsulate the idea of a new service. It refers to a service which uses self-driving vehicles to provide journeys to passengers without a human driver or user-in-charge. The vehicle would be able to travel empty or with only passengers on board. In other words, there is no person in the vehicle with legal responsibility for its safety. In this paper we consider a national licensing scheme for HARPS. We also discuss private ownership of passenger-only vehicles. We cover accessibility for older and disabled people, how to control congestion on public roads and how regulation can help self-driving vehicles integrate with public transport. Duration of the consultation: We invite responses from 16 October 2019 to 16 January 2020. Comments may be sent: Using an online form at: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/law-commission/automated-vehicles-harps We have also produced a questionnaire in word format available on request. We are happy to accept comments in other formats. Please send your response: By email to [email protected] OR By post to Automated Vehicles Team, Law Commission, 1st Floor, Tower, 52 Queen Anne’s Gate, London, SW1H 9AG. If you send your comments by post, it would be helpful if, whenever possible, you could also send them by email. Availability of materials: The consultation paper is available on our websites at https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/automated-vehicles/ and https://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/publications We are committed to providing accessible publications. If you require this consultation paper to be made available in a different format please email [email protected] or call 020 3334 0200. i After the consultation: The responses to this consultation will inform the next stages of this three-year project. The next review point will be in April 2020. Geographical scope: This consultation paper applies to the laws of England, Wales and Scotland. Consultation Principles: The Law Commission follows the Consultation Principles set out by the Cabinet Office, which provide guidance on type and scale of consultation, duration, timing, accessibility and transparency. The Principles are available on the Cabinet Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consultation-principles-guidance. Information provided to the Law Commission: We may publish or disclose information you provide in response to Law Commission papers, including personal information. For example, we may publish an extract of your response in Law Commission publications, or publish the response in its entirety. We may also share any responses with Government and the Scottish Law Commission. Additionally, we may be required to disclose the information, such as in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. If you want information that you provide to be treated as confidential please contact us first, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic disclaimer generated by your IT system will not be regarded as binding on the Law Commission. The Law Commission will process your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, which came into force in May 2018. Any queries about the contents of this Privacy Notice can be directed to: [email protected]. About the Law Commissions: The Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission were set up by the Law Commissions Act 1965 for the purpose of promoting the reform of the law. The Law Commissioners are: The Hon Mr Justice Green, Chair, Professor Nick Hopkins, Stephen Lewis, Professor David Ormerod QC and Nicholas Paines QC. The Chief Executive is Phillip Golding. The Scottish Law Commissioners are: The Rt Hon Lady Paton, Chair, Kate Dowdalls QC, Caroline S Drummond, David E L Johnston QC, Dr Andrew J M Steven. The Chief Executive is Malcolm McMillan. ii Contents THE LAW COMMISSION – HOW WE CONSULT i LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix GLOSSARY xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Consultation Paper 1 1 A “user-in-charge” 2 Safety assurance 2 Civil liability 2 Criminal liability 3 Adapting road rules 3 The focus of this paper: passenger-only vehicles 3 “HARPS”: a new form of service 3 Privately-owned passenger-only vehicles 4 A focus on passenger transport rather than freight 4 “Passenger-only vehicles” within a classification of automation 5 Assisted driving: the driver remains responsible throughout 5 High automation with a user-in-charge 5 High automation without a user-in-charge (passenger-only) 6 Different roles: the ADSE and the HARPS operator 7 Keeping the vehicle within its operational design domain 8 Replacing the sensors 8 Conclusion: safe-by-design or safe-by-operation? 9 Achieving wider transport goals 11 Devolution 11 Recent UK Government initiatives 12 Structure of this paper 13 Next steps 14 Acknowledgements 14 The team working on the project 14 CHAPTER 2: AIMS OF REGULATION 15 What do we want to achieve? 15 The Government’s nine principles of future urban mobility 16 Local transport plans and strategies 17 Urban plans 18 iii Rural plans 21 Anticipatory regulation: alternative scenarios 22 The positive vision: potential benefits 23 Reducing dependency on car ownership 23 Reducing congestion: integrating HARPS with public transport 29 Reduced car parking 31 More affordable bus services 31 More flexible bus services 32 Benefits for those with disabilities 32 Safety benefits 33 Environmental benefits 33 Reclaimed time 34 The negative view: potential risks 34 Safety concerns 34 Inhibiting traffic flow 34 Reducing access for older and disabled customers 35 Too many vehicles 35 “Empty cruising” 36 Undermining mass transit 36 The problems of rural roads 37 The effect on employment 37 Conclusion 38 CHAPTER 3: OPERATOR LICENSING – A SINGLE NATIONAL SYSTEM 39 Introduction 39 Why regulate? 39 The need for a single system 39 Taxi and private hire regulation: an outline 40 What is a taxi? 40 What is a private hire vehicle? 41 The division between taxis and private hire services: a two-tier system 42 Local licensing 43 Cross-border working 44 Regulating drivers, vehicles and operators in England and Wales 46 Regulating drivers, vehicles and operators in Scotland 48 PSV operator licensing: an outline 48 Who needs a PSV licence? 48 Types of licence 50 Applications to Traffic Commissioners 51 Operator requirements 52 The legal framework for car rentals 53 The boundary between a taxi, private hire vehicle and PSV 54 Current problems 54 Future problems 55 iv A single national scheme 56 Consultation Question 1. 56 Consultation Question 2. 57 CHAPTER 4: OPERATOR LICENSING – SCOPE AND CONTENT 58 Scope of the new scheme 59 “Business which carries passengers for hire or reward” 59 “Highly automated vehicle” 60 “Road” 61 “Without a human driver or user-in-charge” 63 Consultation Question 3. 64 Consultation Question 4. 64 Exemptions 64 Community groups who do not transport the public 65 Community bus services 65 Are similar exemptions needed for HARPS? 65 Consultation Question 5. 66 Trials 66 Consultation Question 6. 67 Operator requirements 68 Good repute 68 Appropriate financial standing 69 Establishment in Great Britain 69 Professional competence/transport manager 70 Consultation Question 7. 71 Consultation Question 8. 71 Adequate arrangements for maintenance 71 Roadworthiness: a joint responsibility between the driver and the operator 72 Safety inspections 72 Record keeping 73 Relevance of these requirements to HARPS 73 Consultation Question 9. 74 Consultation Question 10. 74 Compliance with the law 74 Remote supervision 75 Reporting requirements 78 Safeguarding passengers 79 Consultation Question 11. 80 Consultation Question 12. 81 The need for guidance 81 Consultation Question 13. 81 Price information 81 Consultation Question 14. 82 Who should administer the system? 82 Consultation Question 15. 83 v Freight transport 83 Consultation Question 16. 83 CHAPTER 5: PRIVATELY-OWNED PASSENGER-ONLY VEHICLES 84 Private ownership 84 Setting a boundary between HARPS and private leasing 85 Consultation Question 17. 86 Allocating responsibility for a privately-owned passenger-only vehicle 86 Statutory roles: keepers, registered keepers and owners 87 The keeper 87 The registered keeper 88 The owner 89 Other obligations of keepers and registered keepers 89 Specific provisions for hire contracts 90 Placing responsibilities on keepers 91 The effect on leasing contracts 91 Consultation Question 18. 92 Consultation Question 19. 92 Consultation Question 20. 92 Will consumers require technical help? 92 Consultation Question 21. 93 Peer-to-peer lending 93 Consultation Question 22. 94 Protecting consumers from high ongoing costs 94 Consultation Question 23.