Private hire taxi company Addison Lee is aiming to bring self-driving cars to the streets of London within the next three years.

Working with fellow British firm Oxbotica, a self-driving vehicle software company, customers can expect autonomous vehicle services to become available to them by 2021. The pair will collaborate on the development, deployment, and operation of the vehicles – creating digital maps of more than 250,000 miles of public roads in and around the UK capital.

Addison Lee hopes that the introduction of self-driving will bring its services to those currently underserved by the taxi-based industry, and will also look at the possibility of providing corporate shuttles, airport, and campus-based autonomous services.

“Urban transport will change beyond recognition in the next 10 years with the introduction of self-driving services, and we intend to be at the very forefront of this change by acting now,” said Andy Boland, CEO of Addison Lee.

“Autonomous technology holds the key to many of the challenges we face in transport. By providing ride-sharing services, we can help address congestion, free space used for parking and improve urban air quality through zero-emission vehicles. We are proud to be partnering with a British technology pioneer and leader in autonomous vehicle technology, Oxbotica, and together we will continue our British success story in how we revolutionise the way people get around cities.”