Self-driving cars coming to London
The fully autonomous taxi experience is coming to London, in September 2026.
“Waymo Driver” is one of the first driverless hail riding services in the world, often branded as robotaxis. The company is owned by Alphabet (Google’s parent). It has been operating in the United States since 2018, providing paid trips without a human driver.
The service will use all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles equipped with a suite of sensors including lidar, radar, cameras, and microphones for 360-degree awareness.
Unlike human drivers, automated vehicles don’t get tired, don’t get distracted and don’t drive under the influence. Waymo emphasises that far fewer serious collisions occur, compared with human driven fleets. This is evidenced from the American cities where the service runs.
London Plans:
Waymo vehicles are not yet available for public hire. Approximately 24 Waymo cars are currently on London’s roads conducting mapping and data-gathering with human safety drivers behind the wheel. They are active in 19 London boroughs, including Westminster, Camden, Kensington and Chelsea, Islington, Hackney, and Southwark as well as the City of London. Initially, they will not deliver airport drop-offs.
London presents a complex environment for autonomy.
- Ancient street layouts, heavy traffic, and chaotic pedestrian behaviours such as legal jaywalking make navigation harder than in American cities
- Local critics. Trade groups representing black cab and private hire drivers are concerned about job displacement and practical performance in dense, irregular urban zones
How to book your robotaxi:
The service will be bookable via a mobile phone app — like regular taxi or ride-hailing services. It will operate entirely without a human driver behind the wheel once regulatory approval is in place. Final regulatory approvals from the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL) are also needed to allow fully driverless vehicles to operate legally. Full implementation of the Automated Vehicles Act of 2024 will enable a wider national rollout of autonomous vehicles.
Once the rules have changed, rival companies Uber and Lyft are ready to launch robotaxi services. They have chosen to partner with the Chinese firm Baidu.
