London residents can now book autonomous vehicles via the Uber app following the introduction of Wayve’s self-driving technology to the platform. This launch marks the first time such technology has been integrated into a major ride-hailing service within the city. Despite the technological milestone, the service is currently restricted by a small fleet size; only 15 vehicles have received the necessary licenses to operate.

Because the fleet is so small, the likelihood of a user being matched with an autonomous vehicle remains low. To ensure safety during this initial phase, every vehicle is required to have a licensed human driver in the front seat. These operators are tasked with monitoring the vehicle's performance and are prepared to take manual control of the steering and braking systems if the autonomous software encounters a situation it cannot navigate safely.

Transport for London (TfL) granted the necessary regulatory approvals for these trials last month. The launch comes amid significant public interest, as evidenced by the fact that approximately 100,000 Uber customers have already registered their interest in participating in autonomous rides. This number stands in stark contrast to the total volume of private hire vehicles in London, which exceeds 100,000, highlighting that the current autonomous offering is a very small fraction of the city's total transportation capacity.