Alphabet-backed Waymo plans to launch driverless taxis in London next year

Waymo, Alphabet’s fully autonomous ridehailing service, will begin operations in London next year. Google chief Sundar Pichai confirmed the development on microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), calling London one of his favourite destinations.


In a blog post, the company said it would collaborate with its fleet operations partner, Moove, and lay the groundwork for the upcoming launch with local and national leaders for all the necessary permissions.


Further, the company announced a partnership with UK car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover. Waymo’s fleet of autonomous Jaguar I-PACE vehicles currently help the company serve the US, and now Tokyo, Japan.

This is the first attempt by the company to operate in the UK. London, in particular, is infamous for its transport challenges.

“I’m delighted that Waymo intends to bring their services to London next year, under our proposed piloting scheme,” said Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander. “Boosting the AV [autonomous vehicle] sector will increase accessible transport options alongside bringing jobs, investment, and opportunities to the UK,” she added.

Waymo’s US business

In the US, Waymo has already driven over 100 million fully autonomous miles on public roads and provided more than 10 million paid rides, the company said.

Last month, Waymo rolled out "Waymo for Business," a corporate programme that lets companies set up accounts so employees can hail its robotaxis in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Austin and Atlanta.

Competing with Tesla

Waymo competes with the Elon Musk-led Tesla, which has planned to scale up services in several US cities by the end of 2025, per a Reuters report in July.

The Alphabet-owned ridehailing company has about 1,500 vehicles operating in San Francisco and other Bay Area cities, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin and Atlanta.

In February, Pichai announced that Waymo operated more than 200,000 paid robotaxi rides a week. He added, “That’s 20x growth in less than two years!”