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The US-based firm Waymo has revealed that its driverless vehicles will be on offer for booking on London's streets beginning next year.

UK Capital Named as Pioneering European City for Autonomous Ride-Hailing.

London will emerge as the inaugural European city to launch an self-driving taxi service, akin to those currently operational in San Francisco and several American cities employing Waymo's advanced systems.

First Operations to Begin with Human Specialists.

Waymo stated that its cars are presently heading to London and will begin driving on the city's public roads in the near future with trained human specialists in control.

Waymo – originally formed as a offshoot from the tech giant's autonomous vehicle program and belonging to the same parent group – explained it would increase activities and work closely with the government transport body and London's transport agency to secure the necessary permissions to provide totally self-driving trips by 2026.

Increasing Interest in Self-Driving Mobility In London.

Other companies, such as Uber and the British tech company Wayve, have also revealed their own intentions to pilot autonomous vehicles in the capital next year.

This follows the UK authorities announcing it would fast-track regulations enabling real-world tests to occur before legislation supporting autonomous cars becomes law in full.

“It is exciting that Waymo aims to bring their offerings to London next year, under our suggested testing initiative,” said the government minister, Heidi Alexander.

“Strengthening the AV sector will increase available mobility choices in addition to bringing employment, investment, and possibilities to the UK. Advanced investment like this will help us deliver our mission to be world leaders in advanced innovation and lead economic growth.”

Complete Launch Expected After New Legislation Takes Effect.

A broader introduction of self-driving taxis is expected in the UK after the related legislation is fully implemented in the latter part of 2027.

The Company's Established Presence in the UK and Internationally.

Waymo presently has connections to Britain after launching its inaugural European engineering hub in Oxford in 2019.

It is furthermore starting services in Tokyo using Jaguar Land Rover electric vehicles, marking its second present project beyond the United States.

“We've demonstrated how to safely expand fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we look forward to expand the positive impacts of our platform to the Britain,” said Waymo's co-chief executive, noting that the innovation was “improving road safety and travel more inclusive”.

Proven History in the US.

Waymo introduced its self-driving vehicles in 2020 and currently states it has served in excess of ten million riders in the US.

In spite of some concerning incidents, Waymo indicated that evidence showed that cars operated by people were linked to crashes that harmed walkers 12 times more often than its self-driving fleet.