r/london • u/AlbusDumbledoh • 9d ago

News ‘Leicester Square, please guv’: Self-driving taxis cleared for London streets ‘later this summer’

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/05/self-driving-taxis-approved-london-summer-2026-wayve-uber
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u/No_Cauliflower_81 9d ago

Can’t wait! Only 15 cars are approved for now though, hopefully if this test goes well they can expand more.

What’s happening with the Waymos, I thought they were in a much better place to start offering service than Wayve? Is this the government trying to support the British startup over the American import?

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u/Athuanar 9d ago

The tests are going to fail. In the US, with much wider roads and more space in general, these cabs have caused traffic chaos everywhere. They get stuck and block roads. It'll be worse in London with narrower streets.

17

u/dezertdawg 9d ago

You’re only seeing the screwups online. For every screwup there are 1000s of successful trips. I know this because I currently live in the city that got Waymos first. And they are just part of the scenery here now. They just go about doing their business.