Self-driving taxis coming to the UK next year: where will you be able to use them?
October 15, 2025 by Jamie Edkins
Car changing is a big deal
Waymo has announced that its self-driving taxi service will be launched in London in 2026, after hundreds of thousands of autonomous rides have been completed in the United States.
Taxi driver small talk could be about to become a thing of the past, because Google-owned tech firm Waymo is going to launch its self-driving taxi service in the UK in 2026. Its fleet of autonomous Jaguar I-Paces is already operating in certain US cities, as well as in Tokyo, Japan.
The Department for Transport announced plans for limited self-driving car pilots on public roads next spring, but a full rollout will depend on the Autonomous Vehicles Act – which is set to come into force in 2027. Until then, any self-driving car schemes will be closely monitored.
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What is Waymo?
Waymo is an American company which is owned by Google, and it’s been developing driverless taxi services for years now. It started in 2009 with a fleet of Toyota Prius test vehicles, with the aim of completing 100 uninterrupted driverless miles.
Fast forward to 2025 and its fleet of fully self-driving Jaguar I-Paces are operating in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta and Austin. It also recently expanded to Tokyo in Japan, and now it’s got eyes on the UK.
You can think of Waymo as being like driverless Uber. You order a ride on the app, and a car turns up at your current location and takes you to your destination – all without a person behind the wheel. Great for introverts who struggle with small talk.
How do Waymo’s cars work?
You won’t miss a Waymo driverless taxi driving down the street, because they have loads of strange protrusions sprouting out of the body.
The cars use a suite of radar and LiDar sensors, as well as cameras, to watch its surroundings and spot potential hazards. LiDar sensors send out thousands of pulses every second to create a 3D image of the area around you, and it also uses Ai to plan the best route.
When will I be able to order a ride?
Waymo is launching in the UK in 2026, but only in London to begin with. The government is still working on its Autonomous Vehicles Act, a policy which is due to come into force in 2027, and until then any self-driving vehicle pilots will be launched on a smaller scale and be closely monitored to see how effective they are, what impact they have on the economy and, of course, how safe they are.
🚨 Great news, Londoners! 🚨
We’re bringing our fully autonomous ride-hailing service, @Waymo, across the pond in 2026! pic.twitter.com/og4X47nhQi
— Google UK (@GoogleUK) October 15, 2025
You could see Waymo’s vehicles out and about before 2026 though, because it’s currently mapping out the roads in London.
Before Waymo starts offering rides to the public in a new area, it’ll send cars out with backup drivers behind the wheel to learn the local roads in huge detail. Every road sign, lane marking and pedestrian crossing is mapped out so the car doesn’t have to rely on just the GPS signal.
And London’s roads present a particular challenge to Waymo. Whereas US cities have wide, straight roads with mostly simple intersections, London is much narrower in places, and features many more roundabouts and complicated junctions. Faded road markings are also an issue, so it is crucial that its software learns all of the roads thoroughly before being let loose.
If Waymo’s launch goes well, there are a few other autonomous taxi services which could come to the UK before 2030. Tesla’s new Cybercab has begun testing in the US, and there’s also the Verne Robotaxi which will start offering rides in Croatia next year.
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