- London ride-hail users can now get autonomous trips from Wayve through Uber.
- More than 140,000 Londoners have already opted into autonomous ride matching.
- Wayve’s AI learns from experience without depending on detailed maps or rules.
London’s iconic black cabs have some new high-tech competition. Uber and British autonomous driving specialist Wayve have launched the UK’s first autonomous ride-hailing service, putting self-driving cars onto the capital’s famously busy streets.
Starting today, passengers ordering UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort could find a Wayve-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E turning up instead. There’s no additional charge, and anyone who’d rather leave the driving to an actual person can reject the autonomous option before it arrives.
Related: A Tesla Robotaxi Got Boxed In By Bollards, So It Bulldozed Its Way Out
Calling these robotaxis completely driverless is getting slightly ahead of ourselves, though. During this opening phase, every car will carry a trained, Transport for London-licensed private hire driver who can keep an eye on things. Neither company has said exactly when the human safety net will disappear.
Doors are unlocked, and journeys are started through the Uber app, and once aboard, passengers get interactive displays supporting 64 languages, showing the route the car intends to take. Unlike some autonomous services in other parts of the world that are confined to carefully selected neighborhoods, Wayve’s cars can operate throughout London, with the exception of airport zones.
That autonomous freedom comes from Wayve’s AV2.0 system, which uses an AI Driver trained through experience rather than relying on traditional high-definition maps and piles of hand-written instructions. Wayve has been teaching the technology on London roads since 2018, so it’s logged pretty much every kind of traffic situation.
140,000 Riders, But Only 15 Cars
More than 140,000 people have already opted in through Uber’s Ride Preferences, though their chances of actually getting into one of these cabs is pretty slim. There are currently just 15 Wayve Mustangs versus roughly 100,000 Ubers in London.
London is Wayve’s home city but doesn’t represent the end of its ambitions. Wayve and Uber plan to expand their partnership across 12 international markets, with AI-driven Nissan Leafs due in Tokyo later this year. Uber, meanwhile, expects autonomous rides to be operating through its platform in as many as 15 cities by the end of 2026.
Wayve, Uber
