ANKARA

Waymo's driverless taxis will begin operating on London streets in 2026, according to the US-based company, marking the UK capital as its first European deployment of autonomous ride-hailing services, press reports said on Wednesday.

Waymo said its vehicles will arrive in London “in the coming weeks,” with “trained human specialists” behind the wheel as part of its initial testing phase, according to the Guardian.

The company, which originated as a spin-off from Google’s self-driving car program and operates under Alphabet, stated that it will work closely with the UK Department for Transport and Transport for London to obtain full regulatory approval for autonomous rides.

The media outlet quoted Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana as saying the technology is “making roads safer and transportation more accessible.”

She added: “We’ve demonstrated how to responsibly scale fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we can’t wait to expand the benefits of our technology to the United Kingdom.”

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander welcomed the move under the UK’s proposed piloting scheme.

“Boosting the AV sector will increase accessible transport options alongside bringing jobs, investment, and opportunities to the UK,” she said, adding, “Cutting-edge investment like this will help us deliver our mission to be world leaders in new technology.”

Waymo’s UK expansion follows the 2019 opening of its first European engineering hub in Oxford.

The firm is also launching services in Tokyo using Jaguar Land Rover electric vehicles.

The company said it has completed over 10 million passenger trips in the US since launching in 2020.