The future of road safety? Waymo sets sights on London streets

Waymo's aim is to complement London’s existing, extensive transport infrastructure with its ride-hailing service

2026 is the year that Waymo will bring its fully autonomous ride-hailing service to London, offering rides with no one behind the wheel and a glimpse into the future Waymo is already creating in major cities across the Atlantic.

“We’re thrilled to bring the reliability, safety and magic of Waymo to Londoners,” said Waymo co-CEO 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.

”Waymo's aim is to complement London’s existing, extensive transport infrastructure with its ride-hailing service, which will be available via the Waymo app."

Laying the foundations

Over the coming months, Waymo will lay the groundwork for its service in London; engaging both local and national policymakers to secure the necessary permissions for its commercial ride-hailing service in London. 

Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander has 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.”

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Jamie Hodsdon, Policy Manager, UK and Western Europe, Waymo, will be speaking at Transport Technology and AI on 30 January in Birmingham – secure your place now

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Safety first

In the US, Waymo’s automated driving system dubbed the ’Waymo Driver’ has already driven over 127 million fully autonomous miles on public roads, and has provided more than twenty million paid rides to date. 

Road harm prevention organisations have welcomed Waymo's impending arrival to the capital.

“Autonomous vehicles, such as Waymo, hold the potential to significantly improve road safety because, quite simply, the human driver is removed,” said James Gibson, Executive Director of Road Safety GB. 

With the Government having just published its first Road Safety Strategy in over a decade, it is clear that Waymo will have a role to play in helping to achieve the ambitious 65 per cent reduction in deaths and serious injuries on UK roads by 2035.

“The data to date 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.”