ROBOTAXIS
DRIVERLESS TAXIS FROM WAYMO WILL BE ON LONDON’S ROADS NEXT YEAR
Waymo, the US autonomous vehicle company,
announced
plans on Wednesday, October 15, to launch its driverless taxi services in London next year, making the UK capital the first European city to host the “robotaxi” service. The move pits the new service against London’s iconic black cabs. Waymo’s vehicles, currently on their way to London, will begin driving on the capital’s streets in the coming weeks with “trained human specialists” (safety drivers) behind the wheel. The company, a Google spin-off, plans to scale operations and work with Transport for London and the Department for Transport to secure permits for fully autonomous rides in 2026. The launch
is supported by
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who said: “I’m delighted that Waymo intends to bring their services to London next year, under our proposed piloting scheme.” She added: “Boosting the AV sector will increase accessible transport options alongside bringing jobs, investment and opportunities to the UK.” However, the plans met opposition from the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association. General secretary Steve McNamara dismissed the technology, stating: “It’s a fairground ride... It’s a tourist attraction in San Francisco. Quite frequently one of them will lock up in the middle of a junction because it gets confused and the police have to come and park, wait for the Waymo man to get his laptop out and get it going again.” He added: “The press releases are a
34
need worry just yet!” He said ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft might welcome the technology because it would reduce the cost of hiring drivers. Meanwhile, the Waymo press release stated: “Over the coming months, we’ll lay the
bit misleading, firstly they are not ‘taxis’. Taxis are funny looking black vehicles with a big illuminated sign on the front that says ‘Taxi’. “Secondly they are not driverless, they will have a safety ‘driver’ in the car at all times. “But even accepting the mis- naming and hype, when they are eventually deem themselves safe to go autonomous in London, who will be the minister to actually sign off on them? “I suspect there won’t be a queue and come the day of the first fatality or serious accident that minister could become the Michael Fish of government, rem- embered only for his disastrous prediction! “London is not San Francisco or like any grid city seen in the States, dealing with the idiot drivers, mad cyclists, drunks etc will prove challenging, frustrated drivers will quickly catch on that the lidar dome on the roof is an invitation to pull out of a side street or change lanes with little or no notice, as the ultra cautious car will always slam the brakes on to give way. “How long before the kids who hack Lime bikes figure a way to hack the cars, or worse still ‘Waymo roof surfing’ becomes a thing for Tik Tok. “I don’t think London Cabbies
groundwork for our service in collaboration with our fleet operations partner Moove, and continue to engage with local and national leaders to secure the necessary permissions for our commercial ride-hailing service in London. Waymo co-chief executive Tekedra Mawakana championed the technology for “making roads safer and transportation more accessible,” adding: “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 UK.” The company cited data showing that “cars driven by humans were involved in incidents that injured pedestrians 12 times more often than its autonomous vehicles.” Waymo maintains that it can help achieve
London’s transport
priorities, including ambitious targets for reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on the city’s roads. A fuller rollout is expected after the Automated Vehicles Act takes full effect in late 2027. Waymo’s competitors, Uber and UK tech company Wayve, also “have also announced their own plans to trial their driverless taxis in the capital next year.”
NOVEMBER 2025 PHTM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
