Waymo is planning to run autonomous ride-hailing in London

Fully autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo plans to run vehicles in London during 2026.

Over the coming months, the US company says it will be laying the groundwork for a UK service in collaboration with fleet operations partner Moove.

Waymo says it is currently engaging with local and national authorities to secure the necessary permissions for a ride-hailing service in London. 

“We’re thrilled to bring the reliability, safety and magic of Waymo to Londoners,” said Waymo co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana. “Waymo is making roads safer and transportation more accessible where we operate. We’ve demonstrated how to responsibly scale fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we can’t wait to expand the benefits of our technology to the United Kingdom.”

UK transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “I’m delighted that Waymo intends to bring their services to London next year, under our proposed piloting scheme. Boosting the AV sector will increase accessible transport options alongside bringing jobs, investment, and opportunities to the UK. Cutting edge investment like this will help us deliver our mission to be world-leaders in new technology and spearhead national renewal that delivers real change in our communities.”

Waymo already has a presence in the United Kingdom. London and Oxford are home to the company’s first international engineering hubs, which are home to teams advancing large-scale, closed-loop simulation. 

The company partners with Jaguar Land Rover, whose all-electric I-PACEs have been outfitted with the Waymo Driver in the USA and the Japanese capital Tokyo.

In the US, the Waymo Driver service claims to have driven over one hundred million fully autonomous miles on public roads and provided more than ten million paid rides. 

Waymo argues that it can help achieve London’s transport priorities, including targets for reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on the city’s roads. 

“The planned introduction of Waymo in the UK represents the potential for the dawn of a new era in independent mobility options for blind and partially sighted people,” said Robin Spinks, head of inclusive design at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). 

“As someone who’s been severely sight impaired since birth, I’ve long hoped for the day when technology can safely enable spontaneous autonomous travel. Autonomous vehicles systems should be accessible to everyone and we’re working with the community and our industry partners to ensure that the rollout of this technology prioritises the safety and diverse needs of riders and pedestrians.”

James Gibson, executive director of Road Safety GB, added: “Autonomous vehicles, such as Waymo, hold the potential to significantly improve road safety because, quite simply, the human driver is removed. 

“The data shows that the Waymo vehicles have performed far safer compared to human drivers across more than 100 million autonomous miles. Rolling out autonomous vehicles in a progressive yet measured way will be the best approach. The road safety profession and wider society should embrace it. It could lead to a future that our vision zero aspirations envision.”