Our Vision for London: How Waymo can Support a Safer, Connected UK Capital
Our Vision for London: How Waymo can Support a Safer, Connected UK Capital
Automated vehicles have the potential to play an important role in London’s evolving mobility landscape. Following a decade of work and the passage of the 2024 Automated Vehicles Act, London and the United Kingdom are set to lead Europe with the continent’s first fully autonomous passenger service. Today, we are sharing our Vision for London. To serve Londoners, Waymo will utilise the Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme. Unlike a traditional Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) license that relies on a driver behind the wheel, the APS scheme enables truly autonomous rides with no one behind the wheel. It requires both national approval from the Department for Transport (DfT) and the consent of Transport for London (TfL). We are ready to work with London to earn its consent. We believe the experience gained from fully autonomous operations across 15 major cities enables us to deliver tangible benefits for the city. Rather than asking London to adapt to fully autonomous vehicles, Waymo’s service is designed to support the Mayor’s Transport Strategy (MTS). We are eager to help the city achieve the city’s goals in five key ways: Making London’s roads safer: Waymo’s safety record—delivering a 94% reduction in serious or fatal injury crashes where it operates, including 93% fewer injury crashes with pedestrians and 84% fewer injury crashes with cyclists compared to human drivers—underscores how our technology can help deliver on Vision Zero. Opening travel for more Londoners: Today, approximately 60% of UK guide dog owners report refusals by traditional ride-hailing services, while nearly half of UK women report safety concerns when traveling alone after dark. Waymo provides predictable journeys in a secure, driverless environment. And with no one behind the wheel, we can guarantee guide-dogs are always welcome, and have designed customisable in-app accessibility tools for more inclusive journeys. This work is only the beginning; Waymo is engaging with community groups throughout London and the United Kingdom, including London Cycling Campaign, Royal National Institute of Blind People, and Women in Transport, to understand what their current transport needs are. Complementing public transport: Waymo’s technology can make cities safer for walking and cycling, while providing an additional first- and last-mile connection to public transport. In San Francisco, 59% of riders report using public transit alongside Waymo. Waymo is also developing additional product features to bring to London that strengthen our service’s first- and last-mile offer, including transit rewards offers and multimodal route planning. A fleet model aligned with London’s congestion management efforts: In San Francisco, 36% of our riders feel that Waymo has helped them to rely less on a personal car. Waymo’s fleet is also centrally managed, enabling greater control of vehicle supply than traditional providers that can result in greater vehicle utilisation, fewer empty miles, more productive use of road space, and an essential gap for Londoners who want to reduce their car ownership without relying on car clubs. Investing in high-value local jobs: London is a key European site for Waymo, where we have a growing team and are actively hiring. Every Waymo fleet is backed by direct investment in fleet infrastructure and local technical roles—including facilities managers, fleet maintenance technicians, test drivers, and operations support. Waymo is already investing tens of millions of pounds locally to support our London vehicle operations and facilities. Waymo’s service will be supported by hundreds of jobs in the UK, and that workforce will grow over time. Autonomous technology is not the only tool available to accomplish London’s goals, but it is a vital one that should be in the city’s toolbox. We will work hand-in-hand with the Mayor, TfL, emergency services, and local communities to integrate seamlessly into London’s transport ecosystem, and provide a safe, convenient, and comfortable service to Londoners. You can read more about our Vision for London here, and head to waymo.com/london to follow our journey in London.
September 24, 2026
