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The car-hiring service Uber is planning to trial robotaxis in London early next year, having already experimented with driverless vehicles in the US.
New robotaxis are set to be trialled in London at the beginning of 2026, Uber has said.
Working in collaboration with UK AI company Wayve, Uber has yet to clarify whether its new driverless cars will be available for customers. It’s highly likely that this trial could simply be to test the validity of the technology on London’s busy and often chaotic streets.
Wayve has already been testing autonomous vehicles in London, albeit in a controlled environment with human oversight. Uber will use this information and expertise as it rolls out its own services.
The UK has had conflicting plans regarding driverless cars. Originally, the vehicles were intended to hit the road next year. This was then changed to the latter half of 2027, though a new ‘accelerated framework’ has been announced for ‘bus and taxi like’ commercial services.
According to a report by the BBC, the Department for Transport says that this development could potentially create 38,000 jobs and boost the economy by £42 billion over the next ten years.
It’s unclear how driverless cars could impact human Uber drivers, however. Autonomous vehicles operate in an identical way and be available for the same fare as a regular vehicle.
There are also big questions surrounding safety, accidents, and implications for wider public travel.
Driverless cars offered by companies similar to Uber have been available in other areas of the world for some time now, particularly in China, UAE and Singapore. Studies suggest they could be less accident-prone than human drivers, but this is still inconclusive.
There have been incidents of passengers being locked into vehicles and road accidents, many of which end up doing the rounds on social media and striking concern into those who’d probably prefer a real human being behind the wheel.
There are also cultural hurdles to overcome. Many, many people will be uneasy with getting into a taxi that has no driver, regardless of whether the statistics say it’s safe. It’ll take some time before it becomes a normal practice and is widely accepted.
Older folks in particular may take more convincing than, say, Gen Zers who are more accustomed to automation and machine-learning processes.
However, there are some immediate, obvious positives that could arise from driverless taxis.
