Uber robotaxis start in London with drivers still aboard

Uber and British AI firm Wayve launched supervised autonomous rides in London this week, the companies said. Riders who request UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort may be matched with a Wayve-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E at no extra fare.

A licensed private-hire driver sits in every car and can take over. Transport for London approved the modified cars as private hire vehicles, not as fully automated passenger services. Reuters and AP put the opening fleet at fewer than 20 cars. TfL had allowed up to 15 on a one-year trial.

Wayve is London-based. Uber invested as part of a plan to put Wayve tech on its network in multiple markets, starting with London. Fully driverless trips still need a separate Automated Passenger Services permit from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. Neither company has that yet.

London is the second European city where Uber offers robotaxi-style rides after Zagreb, Reuters reported. Waymo is also testing in London but is not yet taking the same paying passengers.

The headline says robotaxi. The licence says supervised private hire. That gap is the real news.

Cities want the brand of self-driving and the liability of a named driver. Regulators get a trial without writing a blank cheque. Riders get a car that steers itself until it does not.

For India, the lesson is regulatory before it is technical. Uber already runs deep here. When robotaxis arrive, the fight will look like London's: who is legally responsible when the software is driving.

Watch the DVSA permit process and TfL monitoring of the trial. Wayve has also shown a Nissan LEAF path for later markets, including Tokyo. Until the safety driver can leave, this stays a small, supervised fleet.