London is set to experience a transport revolution as American company Waymo has announced the launch of its driverless (autonomous) taxi service on the city’s streets, marking its first European operation starting in 2026.
Waymo, the self-driving car company born from Google’s automotive program and operating under Alphabet Inc., stated that its vehicles will begin arriving in London within a few weeks for an initial testing phase.
During this preliminary stage, the vehicles will not be fully autonomous. Instead, they will have trained human safety experts on board to ensure safe and effective testing. This phase is crucial for adapting the system to London’s unique and complex driving environment.
The company confirmed it is working closely with the UK’s Department for Transport and Transport for London (TfL) to navigate the legal approval process. The ultimate goal is to make a fully autonomous ride-hailing service available to the public in the future.
Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo, expressed excitement about the expansion: “We have demonstrated how autonomous ride-hailing services can be scaled responsibly, and we are excited to extend the benefits of this technology to the UK.”
The UK government has welcomed the development. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander remarked that the autonomous vehicle sector will “create new opportunities for accessible transport, jobs, investment, and technological leadership.”
This expansion follows the establishment of Waymo’s first European engineering hub in Oxford in 2019. The company, which is also launching services in Tokyo, Japan, has already completed over 10 million passenger trips in the United States since 2020.
