Insider Brief
- Wayve and Uber have launched supervised autonomous rides in London, marking what Wayve says is the first autonomous ride-hailing service available in the U.K.
- Londoners requesting UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort may be matched with a Wayve-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E, with a Transport for London-licensed driver onboard during the initial phase and service available across the city except airports.
- The rollout is part of a broader partnership to bring Wayve-powered vehicles to Uber in 12 markets, with Nissan Leaf vehicles using the Wayve AI Driver and Nvidia Drive Hyperion also planned for Tokyo later this year.
Wayve and Uber have launched supervised autonomous rides in London.
According to Wayve, it markes the first time autonomous trips are available through a ride-hailing service in the U.K. and Londoners requesting UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort may be matched with a Wayve-equipped Ford Mustang Mach-E at no additional cost. The all-electric vehicles use the Wayve AI Driver and surround sensors, while a trained and Transport for London-licensed private hire driver remains onboard during the initial phase.
“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,” Wayve co-founder and CEO Alex Kendall said in the announcement. “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.”
The service is starting with a small number of vehicles and will operate across London except airports, according to the companies. Riders can accept the autonomous vehicle or switch to a conventional ride before it arrives, and can use the Uber app to unlock the car and begin the trip.
Inside the vehicle, an interactive screen available in 64 languages lets passengers start the ride and view the vehicle’s planned route. Uber said more than 140,000 London users have already opted in through the app to increase their chances of being matched with a Wayve vehicle.
Wayve said its autonomous-driving system has been trained on London roads since 2018. The company describes its AV2.0 approach as using an AI Driver that learns from experience rather than relying on traditional high-definition maps or hand-coded driving rules.
The London rollout is part of an existing partnership between Uber and Wayve that includes plans to put Wayve-powered vehicles on Uber’s network in 12 markets. The companies also plan to introduce Nissan Leaf vehicles using the Wayve AI Driver and Nvidia Drive Hyperion in Tokyo later this year.
“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,” added Sarfraz Maredia, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility 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.”
Image credit: Wayve