Autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo has announced plans to start operating services in London in 2026.
US-based Waymo, which was formerly known as Google’s self-driving car project, already operates autonomous vehicles in the US and is now laying the “groundwork” for its introduction in the UK capital with its fleet operations partner Moove.
The move comes as ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft are also both preparing to launch autonomous vehicle services in the UK during 2026. Uber is working on the project with AI company Wayve, while Lyft is partnering with Chinese tech firm Baidu to launch autonomous cars in both the UK and Germany next year.
Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said: “We’re thrilled to bring the reliability, safety and magic of Waymo to Londoners.
“Waymo is making roads safer and transportation more accessible where we operate. We’ve demonstrated how to responsibly scale fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we can’t wait to expand the benefits of our technology to the United Kingdom.”
The company said it was working with UK authorities to secure the necessary permissions to operate the autonomous vehicles (AVs) in London.
Waymo already has ties to the UK with international engineering hubs based in London and Oxford. It will also partner with Jaguar Land Rover to provide I-Pace electric vehicles fitted with the Waymo Driver system.
UK transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “I’m delighted that Waymo intends to bring their services to London next year, under our proposed piloting scheme.
“Boosting the AV sector will increase accessible transport options alongside bringing jobs, investment, and opportunities to the UK.”
The move to introduce autonomous vehicles has also been welcomed by road safety groups in the UK for their potential to reduce the number of accidents.
“Autonomous vehicles, such as Waymo, hold the potential to significantly improve road safety because, quite simply, the human driver is removed,” said James Gibson, executive director of Road Safety GB.
“The data shows that the Waymo vehicles have performed far safer compared to human drivers across more than 100 million autonomous miles. Rolling out autonomous vehicles in a progressive yet measured way will be the best approach.”