The deployment of autonomous taxi services in London is encountering setbacks that have extended timelines originally set by the UK government. Uber and Wayve recently obtained their first minicab licenses to operate self-driving vehicles in the capital, with plans to commence trips with human safety drivers present. Both companies indicated operations would begin later this summer, followed by a broader public rollout.
In 2025, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander moved up the timeline for fully driverless commercial trials to spring of this year. Progress has stalled in recent months, however, as Transport for London has not yet released the standards and requirements that companies must meet to gain approval. TfL’s director of strategy indicated last month that the authority was not prepared to begin accepting applications in the near term, citing extensive preparatory work still underway.
Competition in the autonomous vehicle sector remains intense, with Google-owned Waymo and Baidu’s Apollo Go positioning themselves to capture market share. Waymo indicated it is pursuing a fully autonomous service launch by the end of the year but declined to confirm whether paid public rides would be available by that date. The company is also moving into continental Europe, announcing plans to begin operations in Munich late next year. Baidu commenced testing in London recently and has targeted a public launch for next year, while the first European city to offer autonomous rides to the general public, Zagreb, launched service through Uber earlier this month, though with an onboard monitor present.
Approval for driverless operations requires a new automated passenger services permit issued by the government’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, a process through which no vehicles have been approved thus far. Both Wayve and Uber plan to begin small-scale pilots with drivers present shortly, with Wayve preparing to transition to new Nissan Leaf vehicles for its fully autonomous phase. More than 100,000 Londoners have reportedly joined waiting lists for the autonomous taxi services.
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