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Driverless taxi company Waymo has announced that it is coming to London in 2026.

This is Waymo鈥檚 second launch outside of the US, with the company already testing their 鈥渞obo-taxis鈥� in Tokyo.

But according to WIRED, London could be the company鈥檚 biggest challenge yet, due to the city鈥檚 winding and narrow roads. As London is much older than many US cities, the company has said that it might take a little more testing.

So what does this mean? Well, Londoners might be able to hail down driverless taxis as early as next year.

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The Rise of Waymo

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Founded in 2009 as the 鈥楪oogle Self-Driving Project鈥�, Waymo has grown into one of the world鈥檚 most well-known autonomous driving companies.

It鈥檚 currently deployed in 5 cities across the US, including Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin and Atlanta.

According to Waymo, their cars have driven over 100 million autonomous miles and completed more than 10 million paid rides. When it comes to safety, they have a good track record too, with their vehicles involved in five times fewer injury-causing crashes than human drivers.

Through a mix of cameras, radar, sensors and AI, Waymo鈥檚 fleet is designed to drive safely, even in the dark or in bad weather.

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Partnering with London Operators

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In a note on their website, Waymo announced that it will partner with it fleet operations partner Moove, who will help manage, charge, and maintain its vehicles in London.

The cars themselves will be all-electric Jaguar Land Rover I-PACEs, which are the same vehicles that are used in the US and Tokyo.

Early on in the statement, Waymo said that they are excited to support London鈥檚 network of buses, tubes, bikes, and pedestrian networks, rather than replace them. What Waymo is panning to offer is a safer and more reliable way to travel around the city.

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A Wave Of Government Support

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Waymo is working closely with both the Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport for London (TfL) to make sure they have all the permissions they need to operate fully autonomous rides by 2026.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander welcomed the announcement, commenting in The Guardian: 鈥淏oosting the AV [autonomous vehicle] sector will increase accessible transport options alongside bringing jobs, investment and opportunities to the UK. Cutting-edge investment like this will help us deliver our mission to be world leaders in new technology and spearhead national renewal.鈥�

According to The Guardian, a bigger rollout of autonomous taxis is expected in the UK once the Automated Vehicles Act comes into effect in late 2027.

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What Will Happen To London鈥檚 Black Cabs?

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Synonymous with London are its iconic black cabs, driven by those who master London鈥檚 streets by memory and are known for their reliability.

Steve McNamara, General Secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers鈥� Association, dismissed the service as 鈥渁 novelty鈥� and 鈥渁 gimmick.鈥�

鈥淲ho needs a driverless cab?鈥� he told Sky News. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think Londoners will trust them, let alone put their kids in one to go to school.鈥�

And he might be right. In one of Europe鈥檚 oldest cities 鈥� where roads weren鈥檛 built with modern mobility in mind, it will be interesting to see if tech, and consumer attitudes, can adapt.

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Are Driverless Cars Actually That Safe?

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Unsurprisingly, safety is one of the biggest question marks hanging over driverless cars 鈥� and it鈥檚 something that Waymo is addressing head-on.

And it hasn鈥檛 been helped by a number of incidents in the US, which have seen Waymo cars make illegal U-turns or become confused on the road. And whilst none of those have ended in injury, they do raise questions about how good autonomous vehicles are at navigating complicated cities.

Waymo however, makes clear that safety is not a concern. According to its own data, their vehicles been involved in five times fewer collisions that cause injury.

As James Gibson, Executive Director of Road Safety GB puts it: 鈥淎utonomous vehicles, such as Waymo, hold the potential to significantly improve road safety because, quite simply, the human driver is removed.鈥�

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The (Winding) Road Ahead For Waymo

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Waymo鈥檚 launch in London isn鈥檛 just about transport, it鈥檚 about testing whether one of the world鈥檚 most iconic cities can embrace automation.

With net zero targets to reach, a rising cost of living and government road safety targets to hit, it will be interesting to see if the UK embraces Waymo as much as the US.

And who knows, if it鈥檚 successful, Waymo might soon expand across Europe. So, is the future of Europe driverless? We wait and see鈥�