Members of the public can now register to take part in the UK’s first public driverless vehicle trials, due to take place later this year.

The trials, which will take place in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, are part of the GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) project - an £8million research project to investigate the use, perception and acceptance of autonomous vehicles in the UK.

Taking place in the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab @ Greenwich and led by the Transport Research Laboratory, the trials will see fully electric automated vehicles navigating their way around Greenwich.

Members of the public can now register for their chance to be involved in the trials.

The aim is to understand how a range of different user groups feel about the use of fully automated vehicles.

Those chosen to be part of the trials will be given the chance to ride in a driverless vehicle and asked to provide their views about the experience.

Some participants may also be invited to share their views in interviews before and after using a vehicle.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said:  “Making driverless cars a reality is going to revolutionise our roads and travel, making journeys safer, faster, and more environmentally-friendly. Very few countries can match our engineering excellence in the automotive sector or our record on innovative research, and this announcement shows we are already becoming one of the world’s leading centres for driverless cars technology.”

Professor Nick Reed, director at TRL and technical lead of the GATEway project said: “The move to automated vehicles is probably the most significant change in transport since the transition from horse drawn carriages to motorised vehicles.

“Testing these vehicles in a living environment, like the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab, takes the concept from fiction to reality.

“It gives the public a chance to experience what it’s like to ride in an automated vehicle and to make their own mind up as to how much they like it, trust it and could accept it as a service in the city.”

In addition to physical vehicle trials, members of the public can also register to take part in workshops to help envision the future of driverless vehicles.

The workshops, which will take place from June 2016, seek to better understand people’s attitudes towards the use of automated vehicles and their operation in cities.

Participants will be encouraged to discuss and debate the topic as well as participate in creative activities with designers and researchers from GATEway partner, the Royal College of Art.

The GATEway project is an £8million project jointly funded by Innovate UK and industry. Led by TRL, it will investigate public perception, reaction and engagement with a range of different types of automated vehicles.

To get involved in the online discussion visit gateway.commonplace.is/comment

For more information or to register your interest in participating in workshops or trials visit www.gateway-project.org.uk/get-involved/.

Video: GATEway shuttle