Uber and Wayve today launched supervised autonomous rides in London, marking the first time autonomous trips are available in the UK.

Starting today, Londoners requesting an UberX, Uber Electric, or Uber Comfort may be matched with a Wayve ride at no extra cost, with upfront fares shown in-app. Riders will be able to travel anywhere within London, apart from airports.

Initially starting with a small number of vehicles, riders will have the option to accept or switch to a non-AV ride before the car arrives. Riders who opt for a Wayve ride will travel in an all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicle equipped with the Wayve AI Driver, as well as surround sensors. Riders can unlock the doors and start the trip from their Uber app.

The initial launch phase features supervised autonomous rides, meaning a trained and TfL-licensed private hire driver is onboard to oversee the trip.

Uber customers in London can boost their chances of getting matched by opting in via the Trip Preferences section of their Uber app under Settings. Over 140,000 Londoners have already opted-in.

Headquartered and founded in London, Wayve has built and specifically trained their AI technology on the capital’s challenging roads since 2018.

Wayve’s "AV2.0" approach utilises an AI Driver that learns from experience, much like a human, allowing it to scale and adapt to complex environments without relying on traditional HD maps or hand-coded rules.

This launch is part of Uber and Wayve’s partnership, which included an investment to put Wayve-powered vehicles on the Uber network in 12 markets around the world, beginning with London.

Wayve’s autonomous driving technology is agnostic to vehicle platforms and sensor configurations, enabling it to scale quickly.

The move follows momentum in Europe to roll out autonomous ride-sharing vehicles. In April Verne announced the launch of Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service, starting in Zagreb, Croatia and over the summer, Bliq.ai gained approval for driverless operations in Finland and Estonia.

"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.”

"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 & Delivery 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."

“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. 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”, said Heidi Alexander, Transport Secretary.

"Today's announcement further cements Wayve’s status as a technology trailblazer here in the UK, and highlights how British innovation is helping drive investment and growth in transport."

By the end of 2026, Uber is on track to be facilitating AV trips in as many as 15 cities globally. And by 2029, it intends to be the world's largest facilitator of AV trips.

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