Transport for London (TfL) has granted British autonomous driving firm Wayve a licence to operate its vehicles in the City, paving the way for robotaxis to make their first appearance in the capital later this year.

Wayve announced on Wednesday that TfL has approved a fleet of autonomous Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles to operate across London under Private Hire Vehicles Licences. Uber will manage and operate the fleet, with test rides expected to be available to Londoners "later this summer."

The licence marks one of the first real-world deployments of Wayve's end-to-end AI driving software, which differs from the HD-mapping and lidar-heavy approach used by companies such as Waymo and Cruise. Wayve's system relies primarily on cameras and machine learning trained on real-world driving data, making dense, unpredictable urban environments like London a critical test case for the technology's scalability.

Under the terms of the licence, a qualified human driver must be present in the vehicle at all times to "oversee the trip and provide support or take over driving if needed." Additionally, the driver, operator, and vehicle must all hold licences with the same licensing authority. The requirement reflects the UK's staged regulatory framework, which was reinforced by the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, setting out legal accountability for self-driving vehicles before fully driverless operations can be authorised.

The vehicles planned for use on London's streets have been modified with cameras mounted on the roof and mirrors. Wayve confirmed that the cars "were inspected to confirm that these vehicles meet all of TfL's policy and safety standards."

Sarah Gates, VP of global affairs and assurance at Wayve, described the move as "an important step towards giving Londoners the chance to experience autonomous driving technology."

"The responsible deployment of these vehicles will bring us safer, cleaner and quieter streets, and we're proud to continue working alongside regulators, communities, and the public as we take the next steps towards making autonomous rides a reality in the capital," Gates said.

GMB Union raises concerns

GMB Union, a major British trade union representing thousands of private hire drivers in London, called TfL's decision to grant Wayve the licences "a worrying development."

"We can't go charging ahead with new technologies without considering the implications of autonomous vehicles on all parties," said Matthew Wright, GMB regional organiser.

"GMB urges TfL to proceed with extreme caution," Wright added.

The deployment also comes amid broader scrutiny of autonomous vehicle trials globally. In the United States, Cruise suspended operations nationwide in 2023 following a pedestrian-dragging incident in San Francisco, while Waymo continues to expand its paid ride-hailing service in several cities. How London's commuters, regulators, and workforce respond to Wayve's trial is likely to influence the pace of autonomous ride-hailing rollouts across other UK cities.

TfL was contacted for comment.