Waymo plans London robotaxi launch by end of 2026

US robotaxi company Waymo is aiming to launch a fully driverless ride-hailing service in London by the fourth quarter of 2026.

Ben Loewenstein, head of policy and government affairs for the UK and Europe at Waymo, set out the timeline at a briefing in London. 

The firm, which is owned by Google-parent Alphabet, showed off the Jaguar cars it will be deploying in the UK at London's Transport Museum on Wednesday.

Passengers will be able to hail Waymo robotaxis via an app once the rules permit. They will not initially undertakes airport drop-offs.

The Waymo vehicles use four sensor systems to gather data from the world around it: lidar (light detection and ranging), vision, radar and microphone. The sensors enable the vehicles to be aware of their surroundings. A computer in the boot processes the data and determines the cars’ actions and reactions in real time.

Waymo reports that over 170 million miles have been driven by its cars fully autonomously in the USA, where it operates a fleet of 1,000 robotaxis in San Francisco and 700 in Los Angeles.

To prepare for the specific conditions found on UK roads, Waymo vehicles have been undergoing training in London for the past two months. A fleet of about 24 cars, each rigged with sensors, have been manually steered around the city to learn the nuances of UK roads. Zebra crossings, for example, differ from crosswalks in the USA. In London these crossings are marked by flashing yellow orbs on striped poles called Belisha Beacons. Waymo is in discussions with Transport for London about its plans.

Waymo, is not the only company seeking to launch robotaxis in London this year. Wayve and Uber are working together to launch in London this year, while rival Lyft is to deploy AVs made by Chinese firm Baidu.

The UK capital is becoming a primary battleground for these companies following the implementation of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, which established the foundation of a self-driving safety framework. The government still needs to enact secondary legislation to allow the vehicles to operate.

The UK government, which has said that it is keen to position the UK as a leader in autonomous vehicle technology, is working on a regulatory framework to ensure it can be rolled out safely on British roads. It estimates that the sector could create 38,000 jobs and unlock the potential of an industry estimated to be worth up to £42 billion to the UK economy by 2035.

The Department for Transport has confirmed that the government intends to launch a passenger piloting scheme this spring enabling operators to run services across Great Britain, subject to safety requirements and consent from local transport authorities.

Speaking at the London Transport Museum event, Lillian Greenwood, minister for local transport, said the government is supporting Waymo and other operators through passenger pilots, and pro-innovation regulations to make self-driving cars a reality on British roads. She said: "We're supporting Waymo and other operators through our passenger pilots, and pro-innovation regulations to make self-driving cars a reality on British roads.

“We know that unlike human drivers, automated vehicles don’t get tired, don’t get distracted, and don’t drive under the influence – making them likely to be safer than their human counterparts. But this means that each and every self-driving vehicle deployed on our roads must meet strict safety and security standards, including protection from hacking and cyber threats.”

The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), which represents black-cab drivers, opposes the rollout. It has dismissed the robotaxis as a “fairground ride”.

Professor Siddartha Khastgir, head of safe autonomy at WMG at The University of Warwick, said: “While we support the government’s decision to enable pilots of self-driving taxis and buses by Spring 2026, the success of these will only be realised if measures are put in place to enable learnings, data collection and enable sharing.

“We urge the government to put practical but mandatory data sharing from the pilots. These learnings will help better define the safety threshold of a ‘careful and competent human driver’.”