Uber and Wayve Launch Driverless Taxi Service in London

Uber has launched a driverless taxi service in London with vehicles supplied by Wayve, almost a month after Transport for London (TfL) awarded Wayve’s fully autonomous taxis a private hire license.

The service uses bespoke Ford Mustang Mach-E models fitted with radar, Lidar and other sensors. The vehicles operate across most of Greater London, including areas extending to Bexley in the east, Barnet in the north and just short of Rickmansworth in the northwest.

During the initial phase, a TfL-certified taxi driver will sit in the driver’s seat and supervise each trip. Uber has not disclosed exact dates for a completely driverless service.

Only 15 Wayve vehicles are currently operating within Uber’s 100,000-strong London fleet, making an autonomous match unlikely. Selected riders will use the app as usual, but will see an “unlock vehicle” icon when the taxi arrives. Tapping it unlocks the doors, after which the journey can start in the app or on a screen inside the vehicle.

According to Autocar, the vehicles use Wayve’s latest self-driving system, AV 2.0. It uses artificial intelligence and machine learning instead of a remote teleoperator, allowing the vehicles to operate beyond a tightly geofenced area.

Users can enable AV preferences under Account, Settings and Ride Preferences in the latest version of the Uber app.