Autonomous vehicle driving on a city street.

Uber and Wayve Win First London Robotaxi Licences

technologyAug 7, 2026·364 words·3 min read

Londoners will soon be able to hail a taxi that drives itself. More than 100,000 people have joined a waiting list to ride in one of 15 electric Ford Mustang Mach-E cars fitted with artificial intelligence (AI) driving software made by Wayve, a London-based technology company, and guided by six surround cameras and radar. Uber, the American taxi app giant, will operate the service and offer early rides "later this summer" before a full public launch.

Many companies want to bring self-driving taxis to London. Uber and Wayve are trying to move faster than Waymo, which belongs to Google, and Apollo Go from the Chinese company Baidu. Wayve has tested its cars in London since 2018, always with safety drivers. TfL says experts checked the cars and they are safe.

Not everyone is happy. A union for taxi drivers says the plan is worrying. It fears many drivers could lose their jobs. TfL says safety comes first. The companies need more permission from the government before the cars can drive with no human inside. Uber plans to spend more than $10 billion on self-driving cars.

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