Waymo is coming to London with a 'trained specialist' behind the wheel but one man is saying he'll avoid until the human is gone

Waymo is bringing its self-driving cars to London, but they won’t be fully driverless just yet.

Instead, there’ll be a trained specialist sitting behind the wheel while the tech gets up to speed.

It’s a cautious rollout for a company already running fully autonomous rides elsewhere.

And for at least one person, that human presence is the sticking point.

Why the London Waymo rollout still has a human behind the wheel

Waymo shared it’s beginning autonomous driving in London with a trained specialist behind the wheel, positioning it as the next step before public rides roll out later this year.

The plan is to offer a quieter, easier way to move between the Tube, buses, and final destinations.

But for now, these cars aren’t being left entirely alone. 

The specialist is there to monitor the system and step in if needed, which is typical when the tech enters a new city.

Different roads, different traffic patterns, and a completely different driving culture mean Waymo has to adapt before removing that safety layer.

That’s where the reaction starts to split.

GB News journalist Tom Harwood reposted Waymo’s announcement and made it clear he’s a fan of the tech, but not the oversight.

“This is cool! Though I won’t take one here until the human behind the wheel has gone,” he wrote.

He added that using Waymo in Los Angeles and San Francisco had been one of his highlights of the year, describing the experience as ‘genuinely magical’.

So the hesitation isn’t about the idea itself – it’s about the version London is getting first.

London, we’re taking the next step! 🚙 We’re officially beginning autonomous driving with a trained specialist behind the wheel. We can’t wait to offer Londoners a quiet, convenient, and magical way to connect to the Tube, bus, or their final destination later this year. pic.twitter.com/Ria5GOBZLi

— Waymo (@Waymo) April 14, 2026

Fully driverless rides are already happening elsewhere

That’s what makes the response interesting. 

Waymo already operates fully driverless rides in parts of the US, where there’s no one sitting in the driver’s seat at all.

Passengers get in, the car handles everything, and the experience feels closer to what people imagine when they hear ‘self-driving‘.

London, for now, is getting the earlier phase of that rollout.

And while the safety driver is there for a reason, it does change how the whole thing feels. 

It’s not quite the same.

Still, this is how expansion usually works. 

Companies test, gather data, and slowly remove the human element once the system proves it can handle local conditions.

So the specialist won’t be there forever.

But until that moment comes, there’s clearly a gap between what the technology can already do and what some people are willing to wait for.

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