Ride-hailing platform Uber, along with its automated driving partner Wayve, have beaten rivals to be the first to bring supervised autonomous taxis services to the UK. The first vehicles with this capability are now active in London, available to be matched with passengers requesting trips across the capital.
The partnership uses the fully-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E as a base for the autonomous taxi, with Wayve’s AI Driver software providing the skills needed to navigate London’s busy and often narrow streets. In this initial launch phase, the aim is for the car to drive itself, but unlike services such as Waymo we’ve seen in places like California, there will still be a trained taxi driver onboard ready to intervene at any moment.
The service is limited to just a handful of Mustang Mach-E’s equipped with Wayve’s software, but any Uber rider in London will have a chance to try it. Riders will be notified if their ‘driver’ is autonomous, though the option to switch to a human-driven Uber will still be there.
Users can join a list within the Uber app to boost their chances of being matched with an autonomous Uber within the capital, and since the signup list was created earlier this summer, Uber says over 140,000 users within London have already signed up to boost their chances of being matched with this new technology.
Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility & Delivery at Uber, commented:
“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. 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.”
Alex Kendall, CEO and Co-founder of Wayve, added:
“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. 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.”
