Uber and Wayve to Start Testing Robotaxis in London

London’s streets are difficult to navigate for even the most savvy of drivers.The city’s medieval layout is a dense maze filled with cars, buses, delivery scooters, bikers and jaywalking pedestrians.There are roundabouts upon roundabouts.

Restricted bus lanes emerge and disappear again.On one-lane streets, drivers traveling in opposite directions intersect and must coordinate in an unspoken language to get through.The failure rate for a driver’s license test in London is just over 50 percent.This week, a small number of autonomous robotaxis will enter the fray, carrying London passengers for the first time.

Fifteen cars operated by Uber and the British autonomous vehicle start-up Wayve will be available for ride-hailing through Uber’s app as part of a safety testing period.The cars will have a safety driver present to take over if needed, as government regulators weigh eventually approving wider deployments.The technology’s arrival in one of the world’s largest and most iconic cities is an important step for the autonomous vehicle industry.

Driverless cars are already common sights in cities like San Francisco, Beijing and Abu Dhabi, but acceptance has been slower in European cities, where the driving environment can be complex and regulation is stiff.“This is one milestone in a continuing long journey,” Alex Kendall, the chief executive of Wayve, said in an interview while riding in the back seat of one of his company’s autonomous vehicles in London.Mr.Kendall declined to estimate when British regulators would authorize a wider deployment of the technology across London roads, but analysts have said it may not be until 2027 or even 2028.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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