Alphabet-owned company Waymo is bringing robotaxis to town next year
The Waymo Driver, a fully autonomous vehicle that doesn’t require a human behind the wheel (unlike driver assist features on other cars), has completed over one hundred million miles on public roads in the US. And in 2026, those same driverless vehicles will be hitting the streets of London, after international expansion to Tokyo.
Following test drives of the cars, complete with human supervisors (which will start happening this autumn), Waymo will be rolling out a small fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles with self-driving technology for paying customers next year, pending government approval.
According to Waymo, its autonomous vehicles are “making roads safer where we operate, with our technology involved in five times fewer injury-causing collisions, and twelve times fewer injury-causing collisions with pedestrians compared to humans.” What will be interesting to see is how the technology copes with the capital’s streets, which are more irregular and narrower than roads in the US, and often congested with other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
Speaking about Waymo’s arrival, Secretary of State for Transport 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.”
London taxi drivers are, understandably, less keen, with Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, calling self-driving cabs “a fairground ride” and “a tourist attraction”.
With British company Wayve, which is teaming up with Uber, also planning to trial driverless vehicles in London, robotaxis might soon become a very common sight in the city.
