Waymo plans to launch robotaxi service in London in 2026

Waymo announced Wednesday that it will launch a commercial robotaxi service in London in 2026, marking the Alphabet company’s second international expansion after Tokyo.

The announcement follows weeks of speculation fueled by several London-based job postings. Waymo already has ties to the UK, where in 2019 the company acquired Latent Logic, a British startup spun out of Oxford University’s computer science department that uses a type of machine learning called imitation learning to make self-driving car simulations more realistic. Waymo has launched an engineering hub in Oxford as part of the acquisition.

Waymo said in a blog post that its Jaguar I-Pace, an all-electric vehicle equipped with self-driving technology, will begin hitting London roads in the coming weeks. Waymo will begin its driverless tests by putting a human safety driver behind the wheel and eventually asking the public to hail a robotaxi, a strategy it has also used in other commercial markets such as Phoenix and San Francisco.

Waymo did not provide details about when it would remove human safety drivers or the size of its test fleet. Waymo spokesman Ethan Teicher confirmed that the company intends to operate a self-driving car service for the general public next year.

When robotaxi services start in 2026 depends on whether the UK government finalizes the approval process for these operations.

Waymo is hiring more partners to share the load of operating its robotaxi service, and similarly plans to use Moove, which already manages autonomous vehicles (AVs) in Phoenix, to handle fleet operations in London.

In Austin and Atlanta, partner Uber owns and operates the driverless vehicles, handles AV charging, maintenance and cleaning, and manages access to the robotaxis through an app. Waymo, on the other hand, oversees technology and autonomous driving, including certain aspects of roadside assistance and rider support.

Waymo has ramped up its testing and commercial operations over the past two years, expanding beyond its original market of Phoenix to several other U.S. cities, including Austin, Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The company also plans to offer commercial robotaxi services in Miami, Nashville, and Washington, D.C.