Robotaxi UK: where you can ride one in London today, who is testing, and when driverless rides could start.

Searches from the UK that reach us mostly ask about the Cybercab, robotaxi safety and how fleets are run. This page answers the first question every UK reader has, which is whether you can ride one here, and then covers who is testing, what the rules require and where Tesla stands. Every fact carries a date and a source. Where we could not confirm something, we leave it out.

Can you ride a robotaxi in London?

Yes, with a driver on board. Since September 3, 2026, Uber riders who request UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort can be matched with a Wayve-powered car, an all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E, at no extra cost. Wayve says rides are available “anywhere within London, apart from airports,” that “a trained and TfL licensed private hire driver is onboard to oversee the trip,” and that riders can choose a non-AV ride before the car arrives (Wayve, Sep 3, 2026).

The fleet is small. Transport for London licensed up to 15 Wayve-equipped Mach-Es as private hire vehicles, and the AI is expected to drive while the licensed driver stands ready to step in (The Guardian, Aug 26, 2026). Interest is not: Wayve said more than 140,000 Londoners had already opted in by launch day (Wayve, Sep 3, 2026). The Guardian called it London's first self-driving taxis for hire (The Guardian, Sep 3, 2026).

How do you get a Wayve ride?

• 1. Open the Uber app in London and request UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort.
• 2. You may be matched with a Wayve car. There is no separate button and no extra charge; your upfront fare is the same (Wayve, Sep 3, 2026).
• 3. Raise your odds. Wayve says you can boost your chances of a match by opting in under Trip Preferences in the Uber app's Settings (Wayve, Sep 3, 2026).
• 4. You can say no. Wayve says riders can choose a non-AV ride before the car arrives.
• 5. Airports are out. Pickups and drop-offs at London's airports are excluded at launch.

Who else is testing robotaxis in the UK?

• Waymo, London. On April 14, 2026, Waymo announced “the start of autonomous driving with trained specialists behind the wheel” in London, aiming at “bringing fully autonomous ride-hailing to London this year” (Waymo, Apr 14, 2026). In August, Waymo's head of policy for the UK and Europe told the Financial Times, as reported by the Guardian, the company was working through the safety approval process and working towards a fully autonomous service by the end of 2026, without saying whether paid public rides would come in that timeframe (The Guardian, Aug 26, 2026). As of November 1, 2026, we found no public launch date.
• Baidu Apollo Go, London. Freenow, the mobility platform owned by Lyft, began testing Apollo Go RT6 robotaxis in the borough of Brent with safety operators on board, and Uber said Apollo Go vehicles were on London roads too. Freenow and Apollo Go plan public rides in 2027 (TechNode, Jul 29, 2026).
• Pony.ai and Verne, Manchester and London. Uber began a trial in Manchester using its partners Pony.ai and Verne, mapping the city's streets with a safety driver behind the wheel and no passengers (The Guardian, Oct 14, 2026). On October 8, Uber and Pony.ai said they would begin testing Pony.ai's Gen-7 robotaxis in London “in the coming weeks” (TechCrunch, Oct 8, 2026). We found no official confirmation that London testing has started as of November 1, 2026.

Transport for Greater Manchester said no applications had been made to run driverless taxis there yet, while noting it was aware of interest from companies (The Guardian, Oct 14, 2026).

When will driverless taxis start in London?

No date is set. Today's Wayve rides run under London's private hire licensing, which is why a licensed driver is in the car. Taking the driver out needs a different approval:

• The permit. The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 created automated passenger services (APS) permits. The regulations that run the scheme came into force on May 15, 2026, and a permit can last up to five years (SI 2026/439, legislation.gov.uk).
• Who approves. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency grants permits for the Transport Secretary, and for taxi-like or private hire-like services in England, each licensing authority where the service will run must consent; a permit cannot be issued without it. The pilot is for vehicles that drive themselves without a safety driver (GOV.UK pilot scheme guidance, Mar 31, 2026).
• Where it stands. On August 26, the Guardian reported that no vehicles had been approved by the DVSA and that TfL had not yet published the guidance operators need for its consent (The Guardian, Aug 26, 2026). We found no approval announced since, as of November 1, 2026.
• The rest of the Act. The government says the Act's remaining provisions are due to come into force in late 2027 (GOV.UK, Mar 31, 2026).

Wayve plans to switch to a new Nissan Leaf for its fully driverless launch, and its chief executive, Alex Kendall, declined to put a timeline on it while it goes through the regulatory process (The Guardian, Aug 26, 2026). None of this is legal advice.

Is the Tesla Robotaxi or Cybercab in the UK?

No. Tesla runs no Robotaxi service in the UK and, as far as we can find, has announced none. Tesla's Q3 2026 update, filed October 21, reports Cybercab rides in one place: Austin, Texas, where they began on September 3, 2026 (Tesla Q3 2026 update, SEC filing, Oct 21, 2026). On the earnings call that day, Lars Moravy said Tesla is “trying to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of this year, 2026,” starting small, and Elon Musk said “the vast majority of the Cybercab stuff will be essentially Tesla-owned” (The Motley Fool transcript, Oct 22, 2026). Neither mentioned the UK.

Can you buy or own a Cybercab in the UK?

No, and nobody can order one in the US yet either. Tesla has no public Cybercab order page, price or delivery date; when we last checked its Cybercab FAQ on October 19, 2026, it sent would-be buyers of a fleet or a single Cybercab for commercial use to an interest form. The dated order history is in can you buy a Tesla Cybercab yet. Tesla's own published safety numbers for its US Robotaxi service are broken down in our Robotaxi safety report explainer.

Who runs the cars between rides?

Every robotaxi service needs a yard where cars charge, get cleaned and go back out between rides, because nobody is aboard to do it. How fleets handle that in practice is in robotaxi fleet management and how robotaxis charge.

Where DockDuty fits

DockDuty is an independent US company building that depot layer (parking, DC fast charging, cleaning and dispatch) for individually owned robotaxis, starting in the United States. It has no depot, site or lease in the UK, and no DockDuty depot is operating anywhere yet. Orlando, Florida is its lead market, with the Orlando depot targeted for Q4 2026 or Q1 2027. To see how owning a robotaxi would work day to day, try the live owner demo or the earnings calculator.

Robotaxi UK FAQ

Can you ride a robotaxi in the UK?
Yes, in London, with a licensed driver on board. Since September 3, 2026, Uber riders requesting UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort anywhere in London except the airports can be matched with a Wayve self-driving car at no extra cost. A TfL-licensed private hire driver sits in the driver's seat to oversee the trip.

When will driverless taxis start in London?
No date is set. Rides with nobody at the wheel need an automated passenger services permit, a scheme in force since May 15, 2026, and in London Transport for London must also consent. As of August 26, 2026 no vehicle had been approved, and we found no approval announced as of November 1, 2026.

Is Waymo in London?
Waymo is testing in London but not yet taking riders. It began autonomous driving there on April 14, 2026 with trained specialists behind the wheel and said it was aiming for fully autonomous ride-hailing in London in 2026. It has not announced a public launch date.

Is the Tesla Robotaxi or Cybercab in the UK?
No. As of November 1, 2026, Tesla runs no Robotaxi service in the UK and has announced none. Tesla's Q3 2026 update reports Cybercab rides only in Austin, Texas, where they began on September 3, 2026.

Are robotaxis being tested outside London?
Yes, in Manchester. On October 14, 2026, Uber said it had begun a trial with its partners Pony.ai and Verne, mapping Manchester's streets with a safety driver behind the wheel and no passengers. No application for passenger service in Greater Manchester had been made as of that date.

Can you buy or own a Cybercab in the UK?
No. Tesla has no public Cybercab order page or price anywhere, and has said nothing about selling the Cybercab in the UK. Its fleet-purchase route is an interest form for commercial buyers.