London’s robotaxi era is starting with a sign-up form. Uber has opened a waitlist for Londoners who want to ride in a self-driving car, the clearest sign yet that driverless taxis are about to reach the capital’s streets.
The rides will be powered by Wayve, the London-based self-driving startup, under a partnership in which Uber owns and operates the fleet while Wayve supplies the “AI Driver” that does the actual driving. The waitlist, reported by Bloomberg, opens ahead of a commercial trial the two companies have said will begin in London in 2026.
The timing is not an accident.
Britain has accelerated its rules for commercial self-driving pilots, with the Department for Transport bringing forward a permitting regime that allows driverless taxi and bus services to run without a safety driver onboard.
Uber and Wayve plan to deploy SAE Level 4 vehicles, the level at which a car can handle everything within a defined area without human intervention.
