Uber and Wayve get London's first self-driving taxi licence

Uber and Wayve have received the first minicab licences from Transport for London (TfL) to operate self-driving taxis with paying passengers, with rides expected to begin later in summer 2026.

The 15 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles, fitted with Wayve’s artificial intelligence driving software, surround cameras and radar, will carry a TfL-licensed private hire driver to take control if the autonomous system falters.

More than 100,000 Londoners have already signed up on a waiting list for the rides, the companies said.

The launch places London at the heart of a global autonomous taxi race, as Uber and Wayve compete with Google-owned Waymo and China’s Baidu Apollo Go to operate on the capital’s streets.

TfL confirmed the vehicles met safety standards and said it would monitor them, prepared to intervene if passenger safety is compromised. The authority’s Vision Zero goal targets zero deaths and serious injuries from road collisions by 2041.

Wayve, co-founded by Alex Kendall, has been testing its technology in London since 2018 with safety drivers. During one test, a car navigated busy north London roads but a safety driver had to intervene.

To run taxis without a driver, Uber and Wayve must obtain an automated passenger services permit from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

Uber discontinued its own self-driving development in 2020 but now partners with various companies globally, including WeRide in Abu Dhabi. Wayve is also collaborating with Nissan to integrate its technology into private cars.

The licensing news coincided with Uber’s quarterly results: the company reported $58.02 billion in second-quarter gross bookings, forecast next-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations, and outlined plans to spend more than $10 billion on autonomous vehicles over the coming years.