Driverless taxis set to launch in UK as soon as September
BBCWaymo, the US driverless car firm, said it hopes to be operating a robotaxi service in London as soon as September this year.
The UK government has said it plans to change regulations in the second half of 2026 to enable driverless taxis to operate in the city but has not given a specific date.
Waymo said a pilot service will launch in April and Local Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood said: "We're supporting Waymo and other operators through our passenger pilots, and pro-innovation regulations to make self-driving cars a reality on British roads."
The firm, which is owned by Google-parent Alphabet, showed off a fleet of cars it brought to the UK at London's Transport Museum on Wednesday.
Waymo's vehicles are currently being operated by a safety driver, mapping the streets.
But when the service launches to paying passengers, there will be no human at the wheel.
Greenwood, who attended the Waymo event, said she expected driverless vehicles to make city roads safer.
"We know that unlike human drivers, automated vehicles don't get tired, don't get distracted and don't drive under the influence," she said.
But she added that autonomous vehicles also had to meet strict safety standards, "including protection from hacking and cyber threats" before they would be allowed on UK roads.
The government has estimated that the autonomous vehicle industry could add £42bn to the UK economy by 2035 and create nearly 40,000 new jobs.
Passengers will be able to hail Waymo robotaxis via an app once the rules permit.
They will not initially include airport drop-offs.
The Waymo vehicle uses four sensor systems to gather data from the world around it: lidar, vision, radar and microphone.
It claims these sensors enable its vehicles to be aware of its surroundings 360 degrees, as far as three football fields ahead and during bad weather.
A powerful computer in the boot processes that data and determines the car's actions and reactions in real time.
A Waymo spokesperson said pricing would be "competitive" but "premium" and would rise during periods of high demand.
Rival companies Uber and Lyft are also ready to launch robotaxi services in the UK when the rules change.
Waymo's cars are Jaguars while Lyft and Uber have both chosen to partner with the Chinese firm Baidu.
Waymo says a total of 173 million miles have been driven by its cars fully autonomously, mainly in the US. Waymo has a fleet of 1,000 robotaxis in San Francisco and 700 in LA.
Some stories have emerged about cars malfunctioning, occasionally leaving passengers trapped inside.
