Uber and Wayve have today launched supervised autonomous rides in London, marking the first time autonomous trips are available in the United Kingdom.
Starting today, Londoners requesting an UberX, Uber Electric, or Uber Comfort may be matched with a Wayve ride at no extra cost.
They will be able to travel anywhere within London, apart from airports. Riders will have the option to accept or switch to a non-AV ride before the car arrives.
Customers matched with a Wayve ride will unlock the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicle via the Uber app. The vehicles are equipped with a Wayve AI Driver, as well as surround sensors.
There will be interactive screens available in 64 languages where riders can start their trip and view the vehicle’s planned path.
Headquartered and founded in London, Wayve has built and specifically trained its AI technology on the capital’s challenging roads since 2018.
Wayve says its AI Driver 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.
The initial launch phase features supervised autonomous rides, meaning a trained Transport for London-licensed private hire driver is on board to oversee the trip.
“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.”
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Sarfraz Maredia, global head of autonomous mobility at Uber, added: “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.
“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.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “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.
“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.”
The 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.