Uber and Wayve team up to launch driverless cars in London this summer

London —

Driverless cars will soon be available for public use in London, a first for the British capital that brings vehicles powered by artificial intelligence to one of the world’s most congested cities.

The launch marks the beginning of British-born Wayve’s global rollout of robotaxis, which will extend to more than 10 cities, including Tokyo later this year. “We’re really excited to launch this imminently and get public riders into our (vehicles),” Kaity Fischer, Wayve’s vice president of operations, told CNN Monday.

Wayve has been testing its technology on the “complex” streets of London since 2018 and plans to launch to the public later this summer. The initial rollout would include “dozens, not hundreds” of cars, she said.

The launch in London comes as self-driving vehicles are being increasingly rolled out in major cities across the United States and elsewhere. The sudden proliferation has heightened scrutiny of what once seemed a highly futuristic technology but is now a present-day reality.

Initially, Wayve rides will be supervised by licensed Uber drivers with specialized training, before fully driverless operations begin. This approach would “prove safety” and “build trust” among the public, Fischer said. “It allows us to build a safety case… so that when we remove the drivers from the vehicles, we have a strong track record,” she added.

Fischer said there was no “strict” timeline for removing supervisors from the vehicles, stressing that safety was paramount.

A recent CNN investigation into Alphabet’s Waymo robotaxis in the United States uncovered serious safety-related incidents, including cars running red lights and driving into oncoming traffic.

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