LONDON — Self-driving car companies can apply to provide commercial passenger services on British roads for the first time under regulations which entered into force on Friday, firing the starting gun on a race between robotaxi rivals to carry paying customers.
Alphabet-owned Waymo, Uber and Lyft have all said they hope to begin commercial services in London in 2026, marking the U.K. capital as a rare battleground between rival technologies from the U.S. and China, whose market leader Baidu is partnering with Uber and Lyft.
The government has sought to position the U.K. as the European leader in autonomous vehicles, building on the strength of homegrown startups like Wayve — which also has a partnership with Uber — and Oxa.
The government last week signed a memorandum of understanding with Wayve, which develops artificial intelligence for autonomous vehicles, to make the U.K. “Europe’s first market for self-driving services” through collaboration on R&D and safety.
