Starting Thursday, passengers using Uber’s app in London can be matched with Wayve’s autonomous vehicles, marking the city’s first self-driving taxis for hire. Only 15 Wayve-modified Ford Mustang cars are currently licensed, compared to over 100,000 private hire vehicles in the capital. Each vehicle includes a licensed human driver ready to take over if needed, as full autonomy without a safety driver remains pending regulatory approval from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

Transport for London licensed the vehicles as private hire cars under existing safety driver requirements. Uber and Wayve’s launch positions them ahead in the European robotaxi race, with Waymo and Baidu also testing in London. Wayve’s CEO Alex Kendall called the technology “still maturing” but expressed confidence in future driverless services, noting plans to scale with Nissan Leaf-based robotaxis after validating safety metrics and securing regulatory approval.

The cars use an AI learning model, not reliance on high-definition maps, and were tested smoothly in Westminster, including a human-like re-parking maneuver. Passengers hail and unlock the cars via the Uber app, with drivers using a robotic script to explain limited interaction during the ride. Uber previously launched Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb, Croatia, with a similar safety driver setup.