Waymo is testing autonomous vehicles in London, with plans to launch a robotaxi service, including a pilot scheduled for April 2026. According to major media, Waymo's vehicles in London are now being driven by artificial intelligence, after previously launching earlier this year with human drivers. The company aims to offer fully autonomous passenger services later this year, pending government approval.
However, the majority of Waymo cars in London still have human safety drivers, not all are fully controlled by AI yet, and Waymo started letting the cars take control within the past few weeks. The exact number of vehicles operating in London and the proportion with human safety drivers versus fully AI-controlled remains unclear. Waymo has claimed that its self-driving taxis will help make roads safer, with the company reporting its vehicles are involved in 92% fewer crashes that cause serious or fatal injuries compared to human drivers.
S. roads, with few reported safety incidents. However, incidents involving autonomous vehicles have drawn attention: a cat named KitKat was killed by a Waymo self-driving car in San Francisco in October.
We reviewed this, and while our vehicle was stopped to pick up passengers, a nearby cat darted under our vehicle as it was pulling away.
Anger in the community increased after it was revealed that Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said she thought society is ready to accept deaths caused by automated cars on the same day KitKat was killed, according to major media. S. has been increasing, averaging 59 incidents per month recently, but analysts say that the increase isn't a verdict on safety but the result of more being on the road.
Detailed safety protocols and incident response procedures for Waymo's autonomous vehicles in London have not been disclosed. Public trust in autonomous vehicles faces challenges in the UK, with only 3% of Britons saying they would trust a driverless taxi a great deal, while 44% say they would not trust one at all, according to major media. Waymo has received substantial support from the UK government, and driverless taxis will get the full green light in the UK from 2027, when the Automated Vehicles Act is implemented.
How Waymo plans to address public trust issues, given these low trust levels, is not specified. Waymo's business performance shows it now generates more than $350 million in annual recurring revenue, according to major media. The company expects to deliver about 1 million rides a week this year in cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami.
However, Waymo has yet to prove it can deliver sustained profits, and the arrival of driverless ride-hailing could test whether autonomous mobility can ever become a profitable business. S. and projected financial milestones for the London launch are unknown.