Wayve and Uber have launched their autonomous ride service in London, allowing passengers to book vehicles equipped with Wayve’s AI driving technology through the Uber app. The service is initially operating with safety drivers onboard as the companies continue preparations for fully driverless operations.
London passengers can book Wayve autonomous vehicles through UberX, Uber Electric and Uber Comfort at no additional cost. The service covers the London urban area, excluding airports.
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The initial fleet consists of battery-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles equipped with Wayve’s AI Driver, cameras and additional environmental sensors.
Passengers can accept a Wayve vehicle when offered through the Uber app or choose a conventional Uber instead. Only a limited number of vehicles are operating at launch, although Wayve and Uber have not disclosed the exact fleet size.
The service is being described as “supervised autonomous rides” because a trained driver licensed by Transport for London remains behind the wheel. The safety driver monitors the vehicle and can intervene when required.
Regulatory Approvals Continue
The launch follows the issuance of Private Hire Vehicle licences for several Wayve vehicles in August. The licences represented an important step toward commercial autonomous ride services in London, although additional regulatory approvals are still required before fully driverless operations can begin.
Consumer interest has also increased ahead of the launch. More than 100,000 London residents had registered for autonomous rides through Uber in August. The companies said more than 140,000 users have now activated the relevant option in the Uber app.
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The partners have not provided a timetable for removing the safety driver from London operations.
London First In Global Expansion
London is the first market in a broader Wayve-Uber collaboration that is expected to bring Wayve’s autonomous driving technology to 12 markets.
The companies are also preparing to launch an autonomous ride service in Tokyo later this year. That service is expected to use Nissan Leaf vehicles equipped with Wayve’s AI driving system and Nvidia Drive Hyperion technology.
Wayve said London provides an important environment for introducing its technology because of the city’s complex road network and diverse traffic conditions.
“We’re proud to introduce the Wayve AI Driver to the public for the first time right here in London, our home city and one of the most complex driving environments in the world,” said Alex Kendall, CEO and co-founder of Wayve.
“Autonomous driving technology will complement the city’s rich transport network, and we’re excited for Londoners to experience it first as we begin our global rollout with Uber,” he added.
Uber And UK Government Welcome Launch
Uber said the London deployment represents a step toward expanding autonomous mobility services in major cities.
“We’re delighted to bring autonomous rides to Uber riders in London for the very first time, powered by Wayve, a homegrown British success story,” said Sarfraz Maredia, global head of autonomous mobility at Uber.
“London is a world-class hub for transportation innovation and this launch is a major milestone in scaling safe, accessible AV technology in a city with some of the world’s most complex roads,” he added.
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander also described the launch as an important development for London’s transport system.
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“This is a major milestone for the future of transport in London, as British innovation brings this technology onto our roads and gives passengers more choice,” said Alexander.
“As this technology develops, we want to support new opportunities for investment and skills, while recognising the important role that those working in the sector today will continue to play,” she added.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the deployment demonstrates the UK’s position in autonomous vehicle and artificial intelligence development.
“From today, people will be able to step into the technology of the future as autonomous vehicles are rolled out on the streets of London, and that is a hugely exciting milestone for the UK,” said Reynolds.
“These autonomous vehicles use homegrown, British AI from Wayve, once again showing that we have the ability to be a genuine world leader in the AI transformation,” he added.