London is set to become one of the first European cities to experience driverless taxis, as Waymo, the self-driving unit born out of Google’s autonomous car project, announced plans to launch its service in the UK capital by 2026.
The company, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., confirmed that a fleet of vehicles will arrive in London within weeks to begin controlled road testing. Initially, trained safety experts will be seated inside the vehicles to ensure safety and monitor system performance during the trial phase.
Waymo said it is working closely with the UK Department for Transport and Transport for London (TfL) to complete all legal and safety approvals before opening the service to the public.
Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a statement:
“We’ve shown that autonomous driving can be scaled responsibly, and we’re excited to extend these benefits to the UK.”
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander welcomed the development, calling it a “transformative leap” that could reshape public mobility, create new jobs, and boost Britain’s leadership in transport technology.
The London expansion follows Waymo’s first European engineering center, established in Oxford in 2019, and comes as the company also prepares to roll out autonomous rides in Tokyo using Jaguar Land Rover’s electric vehicles.
Since 2020, Waymo says it has safely completed over 10 million autonomous rides in the United States — a milestone that underlines its technological maturity.
Analysts believe Waymo’s entry into the UK marks the beginning of a new era in smart urban mobility, where AI-driven transport systems will redefine how people move in large cities.
