Robotaxis hit London streets, but with driver on board. Uber and British start-up Wayve launched their commercial robotaxi service in London on September 3, 2026, ahead of rivals Waymo, owned by Google-parent Alphabet, and China's Baidu, which has partnered with Lyft. - Picture from Instagram/wavyeai * Uber and British start-up Wayve have launched a commercial robotaxi service in London, marking the first such service in the city, with human supervisors present behind the wheel for safety. * The phased rollout begins with a limited number of vehicles, while fully autonomous operations remain pending regulatory approval. * This service positions Wayve ahead of rivals like Waymo and Baidu in London, as plans for expansion to Tokyo and other cities are in development. * Currently, safety authorization permits 15 supervised vehicles, with fares aligning with regular Uber rides. First Published: Thursday, 03 Sep 2026 11:57 AM MYT LONDON, Sept 3 - Uber and British start-up Wayve launched their commercial robotaxi service in London on Thursday, although passengers will still have a human supervisor behind the wheel. 'It's going to be a phased deployment, so we're going to start off small,' Wendy Lee, head of product at Uber, told AFP, adding that the number of vehicles will be 'in the order of dozens to start'. The rollout makes Wayve the first company to launch a robotaxi service to the public in London, ahead of rivals Waymo, owned by Google-parent Alphabet, and China's Baidu, which has partnered with Lyft. Autonomous taxis are already operating in the United States and China, but London is only the second city in Europe to have them, after Zagreb, where Croatian company Verne operates the service using technology from China's Pony.ai, with a supervisor on board for safety. During a demonstration in London for AFP on Tuesday, an operator briefly took back control of the vehicle at an intersection near Big Ben. 'This is exactly why we start with safety operators behind the wheel. It's to ensure that people are safe when they're driving,' said Kaity Fischer, head of business development at Wayve. It remains unclear when Uber and Wayve will launch fully autonomous taxis, with both companies unable to give an exact date. Waymo told AFP that it intends to launch vehicles carrying passengers 'with nobody behind the wheel by the end of the year, subject to government approval'. Lyft, which plans to launch a service with Baidu's Apollo Go in 2027, said it is waiting for guidance from London's transport authority, Transport for London (TfL), on the issue. The guidelines should be issued 'shortly,' according to TfL, which added that no operator has yet begun the approval process for fully autonomous vehicles. Wayve and Uber currently have safety authorisation for 15 supervised vehicles. In London, where the fares will initially be the same as for regular Uber rides, the launch marks Wayve's first mass-market rollout. Wayve plans to expand next to Tokyo and then to 10 more cities with Uber, according to Fischer. - AFP

London's first robotaxis hit the streets: Everything you need to know about new self-driving cabs. All the details on Uber and Wayve's new fleet of self-driving cabs now operating in London - including how to get one News Briefings Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice. Uber has launched the UK's first ever robotaxi fleet in London. The US firm has partnered with British AI tech firm Wayve to create the autonomous vehicles and public self-driving service. As it stands, the vehicles will have a human safety driver who can take over the reins should it be necessary. Uber and Wayve beat the likes of Google's Waymo and China's Baidu in launching robotaxis in the UK capital, though more fleets by other operators are likely to launch in the future. London is not the first capital to see robotaxis in operation - they have already been rolled out across major cities in the US, parts of Europe, and the Middle East. The launch has been hailed as a "major milestone" for transport in London by the transport secretary Heidi Alexander, but concerns have also been raised about the impact on jobs and safety, with many questions over the vehicles still unanswered. That said, Uber claimed some 140,000 Londoners have opted-in to try the robotaxis in the capital. So before, you sign up, here is everything we know: A self-driving Uber car When will Wayve become fully autonomous? It is still unclear when Wayve will become fully autonomous without a safety driver. For there to be no human driver present, the vehicles will need regulatory approval from the DVLA, which is granted under a separate government process. It seems unlikely that this will happen this year. Alex Kendall, the chief executive and co-founder of Wayve, said technology was "still maturing", but the company was "pushing as fast as [it] can" to offer robotaxi services without a human safety driver. How do you book a Wayve? Wayve will be available via the Uber app, but customers won't be able to actively select a robotaxi ride. Instead, once a ride has been requested, Uber may match the customer with a robotaxi. The customer then has the option to accept or decline the robotaxi ride. The passenger will be matched with an autonomous vehicle Uber/Wayve But, those who want a chance to try a robotaxi can update their preferences in settings to boost their odds of matching. What will it be like to ride a robotaxi? Riders will unlock the vehicle from their app to begin the trip. Demos are available on Uber to help customers out. The passenger will unlock and start the ride Uber/Wayve Once inside, a pre-recorded script will be played and then the ride will continue as usual. The experience is available in 64 languages and has an interactive screen where riders can see their trip in action. Should you need assistance, there is support on the Uber app and inside the vehicle. But remember, initially, there will be a human driver inside the vehicle as part of the phased introduction. Will it cost more than a normal taxi? The Wayve robotaxis will be priced the same as a regular UberX, Uber Comfort, or Uber Electric ride. The fleet comprises all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles, meaning the service is not available on UberXL rides. MORE ABOUT