Uber tells London to prepare for robotaxis

Uber plans to put robotaxis on the streets of London, opening an interest list for passengers who want to be among the first to hail one of Wayve’s autonomous vehicles when the service begins later this year. The rollout will be critical in one of Uber’s biggest markets and an early test of whether there is interest in driverless travel beyond the US and China, where robotaxis are already transporting people.

The company is asking Londoners to express their interest in being among the first to ride in their Uber x Wayve driverless cars. In the settings of the Uber app, customers can register by selecting “join list of interest” in the “autonomous vehicles” section of “rider preferences.” Uber says that joining the list “increases their chances of being compared to Wayve’s autonomous vehicle in the implementation” and allows them to be updated in the implementation of the service.

Neither Uber nor Wayve, which launched in Britain in London, could not give an exact date, although both companies said the operation would be “in the coming months.” Customers matched with a Wayve car will be notified in the Uber app and given the option to switch to a self-driving car. Uber says riders who request UberX, Uber Electric, or Uber Comfort will pay the same fare, with no “additional cost” for taking an autonomous vehicle.

Uber and Wayve see the rollout as a gradual rollout rather than a city-wide rollout of robotaxi services, and discussions are ongoing with local governments. Both declined to say which parts of London the cars would reach or how many, although Wayve’s Victor Charoonsophonsak did. Seaside it can start with medium to high traffic.

The first ride will no longer be driverless. Local laws currently require vehicles to have a safety driver behind the wheel, ready to take over if needed. Uber and Wayve would not say when those drivers would be removed.

Even with those limitations, Uber’s list of favorites adds momentum to its efforts to bring robotaxis to London’s streets. The UK currently has no self-driving cars on public roads, although several companies are experimenting. The government says pilotless pilots could begin as early as spring 2026, although full production won’t come until late 2027, when Automated Vehicles Act of 2024 everything works.