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American enterprise Waymo has announced that its self-driving taxis will be operational for use on London's streets starting next year.

UK Capital Named as Pioneering European City for Autonomous Cab Service.

London will become the pioneering European city to launch an driverless taxi service, akin to those currently in use in San Francisco and four other American urban centers utilizing Waymo's advanced systems.

Initial Testing Phase to Commence with Trained Operators.

Waymo confirmed that its fleet are currently traveling to London and will start driving on the capital's streets in the next few weeks with safety drivers behind the wheel.

Waymo – originally created as a derivative from Google's autonomous vehicle program and belonging to the Alphabet family – stated it would expand activities and collaborate with the government transport body and Transport for London to obtain the essential approvals to provide completely driverless trips by 2026.

Expanding Interest in Self-Driving Transport Across London.

Other companies, such as Uber and the UK-based tech company Wayve, have also declared their own plans to test autonomous vehicles in the capital next year.

This follows the government officials stating it would fast-track rules permitting public trials to take place before regulation supporting self-driving vehicles becomes law in full.

“I'm delighted that Waymo intends to bring their offerings to London next year, under our suggested trial program,” said the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander.

“Supporting the AV industry will increase available transport options while also bringing employment, investment, and prospects to the UK. Innovative support like this will help us deliver our mission to be world leaders in new technology and spearhead countrywide development.”

Complete Introduction Expected After Automated Vehicles Act Is Enforced.

A broader introduction of autonomous vehicles is expected in the UK after the new law fully takes effect in the latter part of 2027.

The Company's Existing Presence in the United Kingdom and Internationally.

Waymo already has ties to the UK after launching its pioneering European engineering hub in Oxford in 2019.

The company is furthermore launching operations in Tokyo using JLR EVs, marking its second current operation beyond the US.

“We've demonstrated how to effectively grow fully autonomous transport solutions, and we look forward to extend the benefits of our technology to the United Kingdom,” remarked the company executive, explaining that the technology was “enhancing transport security and mobility more available”.

Proven Track Record in the US.

Waymo launched its driverless cabs in 2020 and now reports it has transported more than a vast number of passengers in the US.

Regardless of some alarming occurrences, Waymo indicated that statistics showed that vehicles operated by people were associated with crashes that hurt people on foot 12 times more often than its driverless fleet.