London-based private hire taxi company Addison Lee Group and autonomous vehicle software company Oxbotica have agreed to a “wide-ranging strategic alliance” that accelerates the implementation of autonomous vehicles to the streets of London.

Under the agreement, the two companies will work together on the development, deployment and operation of autonomous vehicles, with a goal of providing self-driving services to customers in London by 2021.

The long-term goal of the companies is to “take greater share of an expanding car services market for connected autonomous vehicle technology,” which is forecasted to be worth more than $36 billion US dollars in the UK by 2035, according to the Transport Systems Catapult Market Forecast report.

Using its trusted brand, Addison Lee wants to offer “affordable, quality, ride-shared services” to passengers currently underserved by existing driven transport modes. The company would also like to explore opportunities to provide corporate shuttles, airport and campus-based services.

Addison Lee and Oxbotica say that they will “pool expertise, technology and on-the-ground resource to explore self-driving car services that are safe and environmentally friendly, and which still deliver the exceptional customer experiences Addison Lee Group is known for.”

Additionally, the two will work together to create detailed, digital maps of more than 250,000 miles of public roads in and around the capital. In preparation for the deployment of autonomous cars, these maps will record the position of every curb, road sign, landmark and traffic light.

“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,” says Andy Boland, CEO of Addison Lee Group.

“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 revolutionize the way people get around cities.”

Recently, Addison Lee established and led the MERGE Greenwich consortium, which is a government-funded project examining how autonomous vehicle ride-sharing could be introduced to complement existing public transport services.

The project, which uses the London Borough of Greenwich as a model, found that by 2025, self-driving, ride-shared services “could assist significantly with addressing the capital’s transport challenges and make it easier and more accessible for citizens to move around.”

Meanwhile, Oxbotica is leading the DRIVEN consortium, and has already launched a fleet of vehicles that are currently running autonomously in public trials in London and Oxford.