Waymo is set to launch its London pilot this month, heres what you need to know

Date:
Tue, 07 Apr 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Description:
Waymos driverless taxis are making their way to London starting with a pilot starting in April 2026.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Waymos 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 UKs capital?

Will the citys 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 Ive ridden in San Francisco, it might be the Uber replacement youve been waiting for. These robocabs might even make Londons streets a bit safer. Article continues below You may like Theres a new robotaxi service hitting Las Vegas this year and this one is backed by an automotive giant I took a ride in an Nvidia-powered autonomous Mercedes at
GTC 2026 - and survived Teslas Robotaxis are crashing four times more than human drivers (Apologies for the over-enthusiastic start to the video) 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, Ive found Waymo easier because when the car arrives, it flashes your initials on top of the vehicle meaning you dont have to do the awkward dance of cross-checking license plate numbers. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

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. Itll also give some safety guidance, like checking for
traffic before opening your door into the road yes, its obvious, but if
youre coming from a party or a long day at work, a safety reminder is handy
to ease the mental load. (Image credit: Waymo) Its easy, but is Waymo safe? The whole user experience is superbly smooth, and thats true for the ride as well. What to read next A huge Baidu robotaxi 'malfunction' just caused traffic chaos in China The best auto tech you probably missed from CES 2026 TfL is trialling 4K, 4D radar cameras across ten London boroughs

Driving is inherently risky more risky than many of us realize , but according to Waymo itself, the companys 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.

Its 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 its 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 arent 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 doesnt.

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 theyre only switched on when youre speaking with support otherwise theyre muted.

However, there are internal cameras on all the time inside the cars cabin with social media full of stories of folks who didnt realize.

Remember, other people have to use these taxis, and if Waymo catches you
doing stuff you shouldnt be including trying to drive the car youll get in trouble, which could see your account penalized or suspended entirely. So
dont be weird.

Treat it like a driver is in the car with you, and Im sure your rides will be smooth. (Image credit: Waymo) Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And, of course, you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/tech/waymo-is-set-to-launch-its-london-pilot-this-mo nth-heres-what-you-need-to-know


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