Waymo to launch in London

[essayer]

Lots of LHD iPaces coming to a borough near you in 2026



https://waymo.com/waymo-in-uk

Recently used one of these in the U.S. and it was the most impressive technical innovation I've seen in years if not decades, so really excited to see it over here

Edited by essayer on Wednesday 15th October 14:58

[Skodillac]

I fell certain the black cab community will be entirely calm about this.

[valiant]

Steve-B said:

Before being allowed to do so, would someone from DVSA put the Londonstan mayor in it as a crash test dummy! Please?!!

"Londonstan"?

Really?

[anonymous-user]

Only if the UK government allows autonomous vehicles to begin operating on its roads

[macron]

valiant said:

Steve-B said:

Before being allowed to do so, would someone from DVSA put the Londonstan mayor in it as a crash test dummy! Please?!!

"Londonstan"?

Really?

There's always one...

[andrewpandrew]

valiant said:

Steve-B said:

Before being allowed to do so, would someone from DVSA put the Londonstan mayor in it as a crash test dummy! Please?!!

"Londonstan"?

Really?

I often think I can't be shocked by what this forum throws up... and I'm always wrong.

[Inbox]

This could be fun, do they have roundabouts in the US?

[Every day a journey]

Inbox said:

This could be fun, do they have roundabouts in the US?

They probably call them something ridiculous if they do. Like in Thailand, specifically Phuket, there is one roundabout on the island. They call it the traffic circle. Which is kinda more logical than 'roundabout'

[Debaser]

I’ve heard plenty of good things from people who have used Waymo cars. I can’t wait to give it a go.

[Mabbs9]

I've used them a fair bit. It's a good service. Well monitored so the rare glitches are dealt with. The areas are restricted where they operate in the US. I can't imagine this is imminent in the UK. Rather trickier operating conditions.

[OMITN]

I’ve only used them a handful of times during a recent trip to San Francisco.

No glitches for us and they worked really well. Vehicle and people avoidance was really interesting.

Works well in SF because of the grid structure and the fact that traffic is moving slowly. That said, I don’t doubt that the tech could be made to work in the UK. It’s a question of time.

[Baldchap]

macron said:

valiant said:

Steve-B said:

Before being allowed to do so, would someone from DVSA put the Londonstan mayor in it as a crash test dummy! Please?!!

"Londonstan"?

Really?

There's always one...

Don't worry, he'll be off to spray a Denmark flag on a roundabout soon.

[h0b0]

Every day a journey said:

Inbox said:

This could be fun, do they have roundabouts in the US?

They probably call them something ridiculous if they do. Like in Thailand, specifically Phuket, there is one roundabout on the island. They call it the traffic circle. Which is kinda more logical than 'roundabout'

They are called traffic circles in the US.

[swisstoni]

If they can get it done around W1 and its environs I will be mightily impressed.

[Pincher]

They’re impressive (saw them in SF last year) but I’ll give it a fortnight before they’ve mown down a cyclist (probably on a Lime bike) that was running a red light.

[Radec]

Missed opportunity to stick a AI dummy in the driving seat.

[BikeSausage]

Having used several in SF - without the driver “attendant “ - I was very impressed.

London is, however, a very different ballpark.

Overall, I saw them as very competent. If they trial here, I’ll have a go.

[h0b0]

They are testing them in NYC.