Uber and Wayve secure London's first robotaxi licence with safety drivers required

Licence granted

Transport for London (TfL) has granted 15 private hire vehicle licences to Ford Mustang Mach-E cars equipped with Wayve's autonomous driving software, marking the first time self-driving taxis have been cleared to carry paying passengers in the British capital. The vehicles are modified with camera pods on the roof, surround cameras, and small radar units. Uber, which is partnering with London-based Wayve, said inspectors had confirmed the vehicles met all of TfL's policy and safety standards. The licensing completes what TfL calls the "triple-lock" requirement for private hire trips, where the operator, driver, and vehicle must all hold licences with the same authority.

Safety drivers and next steps

Under the terms of the PHV licence, a TfL-licensed private hire driver must sit in the driver's seat during trips and remain responsible for the vehicle, although the software is expected to control the car. Uber said some of the more than 100,000 people who signed up to express interest would be offered rides "later this summer" ahead of a full public launch. Operating the taxis without a human driver will require a separate approval from the government's Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency through a new automated passenger services permit. The Department for Transport opened that permitting scheme in May 2026, and applications continue to be assessed by central government with input from local transport authorities including TfL.

Competitive landscape

Wayve, co-founded by New Zealand-born Alex Kendall, has been testing its technology in London since 2018 with safety drivers. The company is one of several firms racing to launch autonomous ride-hailing in the city. Google sister company Waymo, which operates nearly 4,000 driverless vehicles across 15 US cities and conducts more than 500,000 paid passenger trips per week, has announced a London market entry this year without specifying a date. Chinese firm Baidu has started test drives with self-driving cars in London and, according to n-tv, plans a service with Freenow from 2027. The Guardian noted that London will be one of the first cities in the world to have American and Chinese tech firms operating on the same roads.

Public sentiment and regulation

A survey by the London Assembly's Transport Committee this month found just 29% of Londoners support the rollout of autonomous passenger vehicles. TfL said it would monitor the use of the vehicles and was ready to intervene if passenger safety was compromised.

“Safety is our top priority. Any new vehicle licensed to carry passengers on London's roads must align with our Vision Zero goal of eliminating all deaths and serious injuries from collisions on London's streets by 2041.”

Uber's autonomous strategy

Uber previously developed its own autonomous driving technology but abandoned the project after a fatal accident during a test drive, focusing instead on integrating robotaxis from various developers into its platform. In some US cities, Waymo vehicles are already available through Uber. Uber also plans, together with software developer Nuro and electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid, to deploy approximately 20,000 of its own vehicles, creating competition for human drivers on its own platform. Wayve's approach is distinct from most US and Chinese developers in that its software is designed to learn from human behaviour. Morgan Stanley estimates the global robotaxi market could reach $1 trillion by 2040, with 2.5 million robotaxis on roads worldwide by 2035.