London gets robotaxis next year as Waymo launches self-driving rides
Published on Oct 16, 2025 at 5:21 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Oct 16, 2025 at 5:22 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Claire Reid
Autonomous taxi company Waymo is expanding its operations and will be rolling out its robotaxis in London next year.
Waymo first launched its autonomous taxi service, without the need for safety drivers, back in 2020.
It now operates in several major cities across the US, including San Francisco, where it’s become an unlikely tourist attraction.
Now, the company has announced it will be bringing its driverless taxis to Europe for the first time as it expands into London.
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Waymo is bringing its robotaxis to London in 2026
It’s been a busy year for Waymo, which has launched into several new cities as well as expanded its service area in existing ones.
Today, the company announced it would be partnering with Moove to bring its autonomous taxis to the UK in 2026.
The company said its cars were on their way to London and that they would be hitting the roads in a few weeks with ‘trained human specialists’, AKA safety drivers, behind the wheel.
On its website, the company says it will test its technology in ‘extensive trials’ as part of its mapping and safety validation work in a slew of boroughs across the capital city, including Hackney, the City of Westminster, Camden, and Islington.
The testing phase typically runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week to ensure that the driverless cars are properly prepared for London roads.
“We’re thrilled to bring the reliability, safety, and magic of Waymo to Londoners,” co-CEO of Waymo Tekedra Mawakana said.
“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. ”
Uber is also set to launch driverless taxis in the UK in 2026
Waymo’s announcement comes hot on the heels, or should the be wheels, of Uber revealing that it will be introducing self-driving taxi and bus-like services in the UK in 2026.
Back in May, Uber said it was ready to launch robotaxis in the UK, ‘as soon as’ it was permitted to do so.
And in an update the following month, the UK Government said it would be rolling out a pilot scheme in the spring.
“Pilots of self-driving taxi and bus-like services will be brought forward by a year to spring 2026, attracting investment and making the UK one of the world leaders in this technology,” the UK Government explained on its website.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
