London transport chiefs are in “active discussions” with Google in an attempt to convince the company to trial its driverless cars in the capital.

Isabel Dedring, the deputy mayor for transport, said officials met with Google recently to encourage the technology company to extend its pilot scheme to London.

It would be the first time Google’s autonomous cars have been tested extensively outside the US.

Dedring said: “It’s going to have to work in big cities, so why don’t we start trialling it now? Google have said they are focused on the US, but they’re starting to think about going elsewhere, so we’re in active discussions.

“We met them a few weeks ago to see whether they would do trials here. It is still very early days, but we would be keen for trials to happen in London whenever Google are ready to move them into other countries.”

The company’s fleet of prototype driverless cars rely on sensors and software to complete journeys.

Their shape is more rounded than normal cars to allow lasers, radars and cameras to detect objects in all directions. The vehicles are powered by electric batteries and have an interior that is “designed for riding, not for driving”.

The project began in 2009 and more than 1.4m miles of autonomous driving has taken place.

Trials have been limited to Mountain View, California – where Google is based – and Austin, Texas, but it was recently announced that testing will be carried out in Kirkland, Washington, to allow for greater examination of how the vehicles perform in wet weather.

One of the biggest challenges for developers is to improve the way in which driverless cars interact with other road users.

A report published by California’s department of motor vehicles detailed a collision that occurred after a Google test driver took control of a car “out of an abundance of caution” when a pedestrian began walking across the road.

After the brakes were initiated, another vehicle crashed into the back of the car. The Google driver was taken to hospital with minor back pain.

Dedring said officials from the mayor’s office had spoken with Google “at least half a dozen times” over the past three years about bringing the scheme to the capital.

Speaking at an event in central London to discuss future roads policy, Dedring admitted that she is “personally a bit sceptical about the technology”, adding: “If you’ve got a traffic jam full of driverless cars, that is not better than a traffic jam full of drivers”.

But the rise of autonomous vehicles could enable cost reductions for two proposed east to west road tunnels in the city, she said. “One of the interesting benefits of driverless vehicles is [that] we can construct a much smaller tunnel because you don’t have to have the same safety requirements.

“They’re much safer as the computer controls the distance at which driverless cars drive and their speed. The likelihood of accidents goes down very substantially and therefore the size of the tunnel becomes substantially smaller.”

Earlier this week, the UK government announced that it will invest £20m in eight driverless car projects. The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said the technology would “profoundly change the way we travel within years” by reducing accidents, helping traffic flow and making it easier to travel by car.