Waymo’s driverless taxis are making their way to London, starting with a pilot this month (April 2026), with a full launch coming in September, but what does that mean for the UK’s capital?
Will the city’s notoriously difficult-to-drive streets become a chaotic mess of robot carnage? Well, hopefully not — in fact, if the London experience is anything like the Waymos I’ve ridden in San Francisco, it might be the Uber replacement you’ve been waiting for.
These robocabs might even make London’s streets a bit safer.
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Waymo has been operating its robotaxis for years and, as of March 2026, has 3,000 vehicles in its fleet — so it knows how to make the rider experience smooth.
The Waymo app is essentially the same as Uber or Lyft; you choose where you want to go and be picked up from, request a ride, and wait for your car to arrive.
In some ways, I’ve found Waymo easier because when the car arrives, it flashes your initials on top of the vehicle — meaning you don’t have to do the awkward dance of cross-checking license plate numbers.
To unlock the car, you have to push a button in the app, so no random person can get in before you. Once everyone is in and has their seat belt on, you just push a button in the car to set it off.
When you arrive at your destination, Waymo will let you know and park somewhere safe. It’ll also give some safety guidance, like checking for traffic before opening your door into the road — yes, it’s obvious, but if you’re coming from a party or a long day at work, a safety reminder is handy to ease the mental load.
(Image credit: Waymo)
It’s easy, but is Waymo safe?
The whole user experience is superbly smooth, and that’s true for the ride as well.
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Driving is inherently risky — more risky than many of us realize —, but according to Waymo itself, the company’s vehicles have 91% “fewer serious injuries or worse crashes,” 83% “fewer airbag deployment crashes,” and 82% “fewer injury-causing crashes” than regular human drivers.
This is all thanks to the tri-sensor technology used by Waymo cars. They rely on cameras, radar, and LiDAR to create an incredibly accurate 360-degree map of everything around the vehicle — including pedestrians, obstacles, other cars, cyclists, trams, road signs, basically everything.
It’s a heck of a lot more data and understanding than we humans with just our two eyes can provide, and we also have to contend with a few blind spots while we drive. So it’s no wonder that Waymo is much safer.
Now, you might see some driverless vehicles have worse safety records, but that tends to be for rivals who rely solely on cameras and AI. Cameras alone aren’t yet as accurate as a system with LiDAR and radar, as the technology seems to be more prone to error due to environmental interference — for example, cameras, like our eyes, can struggle in fog, whereas the triple sensor setup doesn’t.
From my own experience, I felt perfectly safe inside the Waymos I rode in — the driverless car drove smoothly, merged with the right balance of caution and confidence, and stuck to the speed limit.
(Image credit: Myriam Joire)
What about my privacy?
Lastly, let’s touch on privacy. In some ways, Waymo is more private than a regular Uber or cab, as while the vehicle has mics, the company says they’re only switched on when you’re speaking with support — otherwise they’re muted.
However, there are internal cameras on all the time inside the car’s cabin — with social media full of stories of folks who didn’t realize.
Remember, other people have to use these taxis, and if Waymo catches you doing stuff you shouldn’t be — including trying to drive the car — you’ll get in trouble, which could see your account penalized or suspended entirely. So don’t be weird.
Treat it like a driver is in the car with you, and I’m sure your rides will be smooth.
(Image credit: Waymo)
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