Londoners can now hail a self-driving taxi for the first time, after Wayve's autonomous vehicles were added to the Uber app on Thursday. But don't get too excited about summoning a robotaxi on demand - there are only 15 licensed vehicles so far, a paltry number compared with the more than 100,000 private hire vehicles already prowling the capital. That's roughly the same number of Uber customers who've signed up to take autonomous rides, so the demand-to-supply ratio is, shall we say, a bit lopsided.
Each of these pioneering cabs will still come with a licensed human driver in the front seat, ready to grab the wheel if the AI has a moment of existential crisis. Transport for London licensed Uber and Wayve's modified Ford Mustangs as private hire vehicles last month, with the condition that a safety driver remains on board. For fully driverless operations, a separate government process through the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is required, and that's looking unlikely to happen this year.
Despite the human backup, Thursday's launch marks a significant milestone. Uber has stolen a march in the race to bring driverless taxis to London, a market seen as crucial for a wider European rollout. Google-owned Waymo and China's Baidu are also testing their robotaxis in the UK capital, so the competition is heating up.
Alex Kendall, Wayve's chief executive and co-founder, expressed pride in introducing the company's AI Driver technology to the public in London, "our home city and one of the most complex driving environments in the world." He admitted the technology is "still maturing" but insisted that driverless services will come, though he declined to offer a timeline: "I don't want to put a timeline on it, but we're pushing as fast as we can."
Kendall said Wayve is moving toward "scalable manufacturer-produced vehicles" - specifically new Nissan Leaf robotaxis - and needs to "validate the safety metrics on that platform" while also securing regulatory approval. "We're working on all three in parallel. As soon as they come together, we'll launch [fully] driverless services," he said.
Wayve's approach differs from rivals like Waymo, relying on an AI learning model rather than detailed mapping. During a brief autonomous test drive in Westminster this week, the Guardian experienced smooth sailing, with Kendall notably pleased when the car decided to pull away and re-park after stopping in front of gates that other cars were attempting to pass through. "That was quite human-like - really cool," he said. "We've done a lot of work to make sure the car can park in appropriate spots that are socially acceptable."
The cars are hailed and unlocked through the Uber app. The safety driver will introduce themselves with a script that's appropriately robotic, explaining they won't speak during the ride but can take over control if the customer prefers. It's like having a silent chauffeur who's also a robot's babysitter.
While these are London's first self-driving cabs for hire, fully driverless services already operate in many cities worldwide, mainly in the US, China, and the United Arab Emirates. Uber also launched Europe's first commercial robotaxi service earlier this summer in Zagreb, Croatia, with a human driver onboard, just like in London.
Sarfraz Maredia, Uber's head of autonomous mobility, called the London launch "a major milestone in scaling safe, accessible AV technology in a city with some of the world's most complex roads." He noted that the benefits for consumers should, over time, be both safer and cheaper. "Today, nobody's able to operate AVs cheaper than a traditional human-driven ride, so that's going to take a while to prove," he conceded.
Maredia addressed concerns from human drivers, insisting they won't be put out of work. "One of the most common ones we hear from our drivers is: 'Hey, I drive in this city and it's very complex, and I don't think this product is going to be able to compete with me anytime soon.'" He added that Uber wants to be a platform where both humans and AVs operate, and given the growing market, that's likely to be true for a while.
Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, praised the launch as "a major milestone for the future of transport in London, as British innovation brings this technology on to our roads and gives passengers more choice." She hailed Wayve as a "technology trailblazer" and highlighted how British innovation is driving investment and growth in transport.
Not everyone is popping champagne. David McMullen, a senior organiser at the GMB union, warned: "With hundreds of thousands of people employed to drive every day, we need to be really careful with the rollout of driverless cars unless we are prepared to see unprecedented levels of social and economic disruption." So, in other words, proceed with caution - unless you're a robotaxi enthusiast with a penchant for disruption.