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American firm Waymo has declared that its driverless cabs will be on offer for booking on London's roads beginning next year.

UK Capital Named as Pioneering European City for Autonomous Ride-Hailing.

The UK capital will emerge as the pioneering European city to launch an driverless taxi service, similar to those currently familiar in San Francisco and four other American urban centers employing Waymo's cutting-edge technology.

First Trials to Start with Safety Drivers.

Waymo announced that its fleet are currently heading to London and will start operating on the capital's public roads in the coming weeks with safety drivers behind the wheel.

The company – originally created as a derivative from the tech giant's autonomous vehicle initiative and part of the Alphabet family – indicated it would scale up operations and partner with the government transport body and Transport for London to obtain the necessary permissions to provide completely driverless rides by 2026.

Growing Involvement in Self-Driving Transport Across London.

Further firms, such as Uber and the British tech company Wayve, have also announced their own intentions to pilot autonomous cabs in the capital next year.

This follows the government officials stating it would fast-track regulations enabling public trials to proceed before legislation allowing autonomous cars passes in full.

“I'm delighted that Waymo aims to introduce their services to London next year, under our proposed testing initiative,” said the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander.

“Supporting the autonomous vehicle market will increase inclusive transport options in addition to bringing work, funding, and prospects to the UK. Cutting-edge funding like this will assist in achieving our goal to be international frontrunners in emerging tech and drive countrywide development.”

Full Launch Projected After Automated Vehicles Act Is Enforced.

A fuller introduction of self-driving taxis is projected in the UK after the Automated Vehicles Act fully takes effect in late 2027.

The Company's Established Presence in the United Kingdom and Internationally.

Waymo presently has connections to the UK after establishing its first European technical center in Oxford in 2019.

It is furthermore starting offerings in Tokyo using JLR electric vehicles, marking its sole additional existing project outside the United States.

“Our experience shows how to safely expand totally self-driving taxi services, and we look forward to expand the benefits of our platform to the Britain,” remarked Waymo's co-chief executive, explaining that the innovation was “making roads safer and mobility more accessible”.

Proven History in the US.

Waymo launched its driverless cabs in 2020 and now claims it has served in excess of ten million customers in the United States.

Regardless of some troubling occurrences, Waymo asserted that statistics demonstrated that cars operated by humans were involved in crashes that injured pedestrians at a much higher rate than its autonomous fleet.