Uber and Wayve Receive London Licenses to Launch Supervised Robotaxi Service

Transport for London has granted private hire vehicle licenses to Wayve's fleet of 15 autonomous Ford Mustang Mach-E cars, completing the "triple-lock" regulatory requirement to launch supervised passenger trials on Uber's platform. Unlike competitors Waymo and Baidu, which rely on HD maps and LiDAR, Wayve's mapless AV2.0 neural network uses only cameras and radar. While over 100,000 Londoners have joined the waitlist for supervised rides starting in late summer 2026, the GMB Union has raised concerns over driver job displacement.

TfL private hire vehicle licensing

• ▪Transport for London approved modifications to up to 15 Wayve vehicles on a trial basis, with each license valid for one year.
• ▪Transport for London granted Private Hire Vehicle licenses to Wayve's fleet of autonomous Ford Mustang Mach-E cars on August 5, 2026.
• ▪The licensing of Wayve's vehicles completes London's triple-lock requirement, which mandates that the operator, driver, and vehicle must all hold valid Transport for London licenses.

Wayve end-to-end AI architecture

• ▪Wayve's autonomous driving system operates without pre-built high-definition maps or light detection and ranging sensors.
• ▪Wayve's AV2.0 platform uses a single end-to-end neural network that processes raw data from six cameras and a radar array to output steering, braking, and acceleration commands.

AI-500 global road trip validation

• ▪Wayve's AI Driver model navigated driving in 506 cities across Europe, North America, and Japan during its AI-500 roadshow without city-specific pre-training or high-definition map updates.
• ▪Wayve has been testing its autonomous driving technology on London roads since 2018.

Supervised versus driverless service distinction

• ▪The licensed Transport for London trips will operate as supervised autonomous rides with a trained, licensed private hire driver present in the vehicle at all times.
• ▪Fully driverless commercial service in the United Kingdom requires an Automated Passenger Service permit from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency under the Automated Vehicles Act 2024.

Waymo Baidu London competitor approaches

• ▪Waymo began testing its sensor-heavy autonomous vehicle platform in London in April 2026, utilizing five light detection and ranging units, 29 cameras, and six radar sensors.
• ▪Baidu's Apollo Go commenced autonomous vehicle road testing in London's Borough of Brent on July 28, 2026, using its RT6 purpose-built robotaxi equipped with 38 sensors.

Stellantis Nissan automaker partnerships

• ▪Wayve and Nissan have partnered to integrate the Wayve AI Driver into Nissan's next-generation driver-assistance systems, with deployment planned for fiscal year 2027.
• ▪Wayve, Uber, and Stellantis signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding in June 2026 to develop and deploy Level 4 fully driverless robotaxis globally.