(Credit: Waymo)
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Waymo's next big international stop is London. The company just announced it plans to offer fully autonomous rides in the city, with no driver behind the wheel, in 2026.
Fleet operations in London will be managed by Moove, and, once the service becomes available, customers will be able to book rides via the Waymo app.
The UK doesn't have fully autonomous vehicles (AV) on its roads at the moment. But earlier this year, the government fast-tracked its self-driving goals to let companies pilot their taxi- and bus-like services by spring 2026.
Waymo is now poised to become the first to operate AVs in the country (and Europe, as well). However, it will have to beat Uber to it. In June, the ride-hailing giant announced a partnership with British startup Wayve for the same purpose. A broader rollout for AVs in the UK, however, isn't expected until the Automated Vehicles Act takes effect in the second half of 2027. (In the US, Uber and Waymo are working together in Atlanta and Austin.)
Waymo is currently in talks "with local and national leaders to secure the necessary permissions" for commercial operations in London. According to an FAQ on its dedicated web page for London operations, Waymo says it will begin mapping parts of the city and conduct safety validation of its Waymo Driver software "soon."
Waymo's first international engineering hubs were located in London and Oxford, and the company also utilizes all-electric I-Pace cars from British brand Jaguar Land Rover for its operations in the US. Those cars were built for right-side driving, but Waymo will still use them for testing in the UK.
"Our Autonomous Specialists are on board during these early trials to monitor the system, and they are trained to operate a left-hand drive vehicle safely on UK roads, and with all the rules and regulations of the roads in the UK," the company says.
London isn't Waymo's first international destination. Tests in Tokyo began earlier this year. In the US, meanwhile, the ride-hailing service completes 250,000 paid trips each week.