London is approaching its first robotaxi service as Waymo begins testing

Waymo has begun testing its autonomous vehicles on public roads in London as it plans to launch a commercial robotaxi service in the city this year.

Alphabet Company has been operating until now for several months. That’s it he announced in October it planned to start driving Public roads in London. Waymo employees initially drive the cars manually to map the city before testing. Meanwhile, the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace with Waymo’s self-driving system has a human safety driver behind the wheel.

“Core drive AI generalizing well,” Waymo Co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov wrote in a LinkedIn post announcement of testing. “Independent testing is carried out by experts at the wheel as we gain a better understanding of local transport conditions and confirm the condition of the UK’s roads – a vital part of delivering a self-driving car.”

Waymo said another post on LinkedIn that it is investing in the country by hiring locally and setting up several AV service centers across London. The company also said it is working with emergency services “as we build the foundation to expand our business in Europe.”

If Waymo follows its path, the company will eventually conduct self-driving tests and allow its employees to try out the service before inviting people to admire its robots. Waymo’s plans to launch the service in 2026 are dependent on the UK government finalizing approval for the services.

Waymo already has a relationship with the UK: In 2019, the company discovered Latent LogicThe UK initiative came from the computer science department at Oxford University which uses a machine learning technique called simulation learning to make simulations of self-driving cars more realistic. Waymo established an engineering center in Oxford as part of the acquisition.

Waymo has more than 3,000 robotaxis in its fleet, the company previously told TechCrunch. Documents posted in January by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration support these numbers, though it’s possible that the fleet has grown with the addition of a new minivan-like vehicle made by Zeekr.

Robotaxis is spread across 11 cities where it sells products, including Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and the San Francisco Bay Area, to name a few. Waymo is also testing and planning to launch in several other markets.

London could be Waymo’s first global retail market (it’s also test in Tokyo). And Waymo will face competition in both cities. The introduction of autonomous vehicle technology in the UK Wave is Uber and plans to launch a driverless robotaxi service in London. Wayve, Uber, and Nissan also signed an agreement in March to launch it pilot program in Tokyo in late 2026.