DUNTON, UK - Uber and Wayve this week launched supervised autonomous rides in London, marking the first time autonomous trips are available to the public in the United Kingdom.
Riders across London requesting UberX, Uber Electric, or Uber Comfort may be matched with an all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E equipped with the Wayve AI Driver at no extra cost.
Customers matched with a Wayve vehicle will always have the option to accept or switch to a non-AV ride before the car arrives. Once the Wayve vehicle arrives, riders can unlock the doors, and start the trip all from their Uber app.
The initial launch phase features supervised autonomous rides, meaning a trained and TfL licensed private hire driver is onboard to oversee the trip.
Headquartered and founded in London, Wayve has built and specifically trained their AI technology on the capital’s challenging roads since 2018. Wayve’s "AV2.0" approach utilizes an AI Driver that learns from experience, much like a human, allowing it to scale and adapt to complex environments without relying on traditional HD maps or hand-coded rules.
In a statement, Uber said: “London is a world-class hub for transportation innovation, and this launch is a major milestone in scaling safe, accessible AV technology in a city with some of the world’s most complex roads. We’re excited to give Londoners – and visitors – a new way to get around the city with Uber.”