Look, no hands! Waymo's driverless cars set to hit London roads within weeks

"Self-driving cars will start appearing on the streets of London in a few weeks time, as the Google-backed Waymo has confirmed its UK launch. Waymo, which is owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google said today that it will start deploying supervised robotaxis, with safety drivers behind the wheel, for data collection in London in the next few weeks."

"When it launches its commercial service next year, it expects that its robotaxis will be fully driverless. At the moment, they need to wait until Spring 2026 before they can remove the human assist, as that's when the UK government has decided that it will start piloting fully driverless ride-hail services, although a fuller rollout of self-driving taxis won't come until the Automated Vehicles Act of 2024 fully takes effect in late 2027."

"London is Waymo's first foray outside its home market in the USA, and will prove more of a challenge with its ancient road layout in the City compared to the more modern, wider grid layouts of US cities. The automatic cars should, and generally are, safer than human-driven cars, as they don't lose concentration when tired, don't suffer from road rage and obey the traffic laws."

Waymo will begin deploying supervised robotaxis with safety drivers in London in the coming weeks to collect data. The company expects to offer a commercial fully driverless service next year but cannot remove human assistance until Spring 2026 when the UK will pilot fully driverless ride-hail services. A broader rollout depends on the Automated Vehicles Act of 2024 taking full effect in late 2027. London presents greater technical and logistical challenges due to older, narrower road layouts compared with US cities. Autonomous taxis are generally safer than human drivers and could reduce parking demand and free urban space.

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