Posted on the 27th August 2026 in PHTM News

LONDON ROBOTAXI LAUNCH DELAYED AS REGULATORS FAIL TO ISSUE CRUCIAL GUIDANCE

London’s much-anticipated rollout of robotaxis will likely not happen this year. Technical and regulatory hurdles have slowed down the schedule originally fast-tracked by the UK government.

Transport for London (TfL) has still not published the guidance that companies need to follow to win approval.

According to The Guardian, Christina Calderato, TfL’s director of strategy, recently told the London assembly’s transport committee that the transit authority would not be ready to accept applications “for some time.”

She added: “I do not think we are in a rush to get [the guidelines] out. There is a huge amount of work going on behind the scenes.”

Just weeks ago, Uber and London-based Wayve received the capital's first private hire vehicle licences to offer self-driving taxi rides to paying customers, though with a human safety driver for now.

They previously stated trips would start “later this summer” before a full public launch. More than 100,000 Londoners are currently on their waiting list.

Last year, the transport secretary Heidi Alexander accelerated the timeline for commercial trials of fully driverless taxis by a year, aiming for a spring start.

However, operating taxis without a driver requires approval through a new process with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), and no vehicles have been approved yet.

Wayve’s chief executive, Alex Kendall, clarified that his company never claimed it would have a fully driverless operation this year. “I don’t want to put a timeline on it because we want to make sure we pass through [the regulatory process],” he said.

“This work is continuing at pace. London is a significant step up in complexity compared to Phoenix or San Francisco.”

Meanwhile, global competitors are pushing forward. Google-owned Waymo is working through safety approvals with the transport department and is waiting on TfL’s guidance to gain consent. Waymo hopes to launch by the end of the year, though paid public rides remain uncertain.

Baidu began testing vehicles in London in July and plans public rides next year.

While robotaxis operate in over 20 cities across the US, China, and the Middle East, and Zagreb recently launched autonomous rides with a human driver for “onboard monitoring”, London's complex streets and lack of guidelines mean local passengers must wait a little longer.


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