Uber, Lyft Set To Trial Robotaxis In the UK In Partnership With China's Baidu (cnbc.com)
- Reference: 0180441137
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/12/22/2219206/uber-lyft-set-to-trial-robotaxis-in-the-uk-in-partnership-with-chinas-baidu
- Source link: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/22/uber-lyft-set-to-trial-robotaxis-uk-in-partnership-chinas-baidu.html
> Lyft's testing of Baidu's initial fleet of dozens of vehicles will begin in 2026, pending regulatory approval, "with plans to scale to hundreds from there," Lyft CEO David Risher [2]said in a post on social media platform X on Monday. Meanwhile, Uber [3]said that its first pilot is expected to start in the first half of 2026. "We're excited to accelerate Britain's leadership in the future of mobility, bringing another safe and reliable travel option to Londoners next year," the company added.
>
> The moves add to Baidu's growing global footprint, which it says includes 22 cities and more than 250,000 weekly trips, as it races against other Chinese players like WeRide and Western giants like Alphabet's Waymo. The UK, in particular, has seen a wave of interest from driverless taxi companies, following the government's announcement in June that it would accelerate its plans to allow autonomous vehicle tech on public roads. The government now aims to begin permitting robotaxis to operate in small-scale pilots starting in spring 2026, with Baidu likely aiming to be among the first. The city of London has also established a "Vision Zero" goal to eliminate all serious injuries and deaths in its transportation systems by 2041, with autonomous driving technology expected to play a large role.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/22/uber-lyft-set-to-trial-robotaxis-uk-in-partnership-chinas-baidu.html
[2] https://x.com/davidrisher/status/2002958135083110652
[3] https://x.com/Uber/status/2002944594364030996
In Atlanta, Waymo uses Jaguars. (Score:1)
But I guess in the UK, they don't want British cars on the road?
Great Job UK! You could be boosting domestic production and ensuring jobs for your autoworkers, but why not let China take it all over instead. F-ing brilliant.
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Okay Xi, good job not being able to read English.
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You could be boosting domestic production and ensuring jobs for your autoworkers, but why not let China take it all over instead. F-ing brilliant.
So you want them to follow Tesla's lead and [1]take money from one pocket and put it in the other pocket [futurism.com] and claim sales are growing?
[1] https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/spacex-buying-unfathomable-number-cybertrucks
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I want the UK to do things that benefit the British people instead of the CCP. I see Waymo using Jaguars in the US, and don't understand why they would use a Chinese car in the UK. I don't understand why the UK would allow this. They could be making themselves stronger and more independent, but instead are making themselves weaker and more dependent upon an adversary.
And this is before considering the potential weaponization of the platform.
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What brand of foil hat are you wearing today?
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Yeah, I wonder what the justification is/was? The UK has a bit of nervousness about China, so it seems odd to be doing this. Even if they were using MGs (owned/built by the Chinese, designed in the UK) you could understand it, but this?
It'd have been really great if they'd partnered with Rolls Royce or Aston Martin, but hey, I'd settle for a Vauxhall ;-)
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And I know the UK likes having a domestic auto industry, so why they would allow predatorially priced Chinese cars anywhere near their borders is a mystery to me.
My best guess would be the failure of the Parliamentary system to recognize the fact that legislators make horrible executives. Which isn't really my best guess, it's just my snarkiest. My actual best guess is that either someone important is incredibly stupid or incredibly corrupt. Potentially both.
I'm genuinely worried about the course the
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If I were you, I’d worry about commenting on a country’s car industry of which you know so little, you didn’t even know what The Knowledge was. I’d take that as a good indication that there would be more to learn about its parliamentary system before commenting on that, too. But hey, I am not blessed with your confident ignorance.
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I was unaware of Tata's ownership, but the company is still headquartered in the UK, still builds in the UK, and still provides thousands of jobs in the UK.
If it must be owned by a non-UK parent company, then one based in another democratic nation (and China foe) is almost as good.
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> But I guess in the UK, they don't want British cars on the road?
The i-Pace is no longer in production, so it is not really an option going forward (Waymo has at least two paths they are following for expansion outside of their initial footprints, the Inoiq 5, and a purpose built Zeekr). Of course, for Waymo's initial deployment in London, I would not be surprised if they ship a few Jags over just for the presso, but they will need something else.
Much harder challenge than the US (Score:3)
British streets are narrower, junctions are often irregular, lots of roundabouts, lots of parking on the kerbs, tons of pedestrians and cyclists everywhere, and lots of roads where you have to take turns to get through. I shudder to think of what a self-driving car would do heading down Redington Road in Hampstead during a January morning school run, having to squeeze past an angry parent in a Cayenne with an inch to spare on either side and five seconds to do it before the driver coming the other way closes the gap and makes it impossible to move anywhere, and the rain is sheeting down and it’s completely overcast.
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I tried using a microwave but couldn't get it to drive me to work. Ended up getting fired.
Money you can make people do anything (Score:2)
No matter how reckless and dangerous it is, if you have enough money, you can even put driverless cars on the road. The world is a billionaire's toy.
Can they pass the knowledge? (Score:2)
Can they pass the knowledge?
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Well, those words don't make any sense in that order, but let's see if I can guess at your meaning. Are you concerned that the CCP will siphon data from the cars and weaponize it against the British people? You should be, they will.
Or were you concerned that the CCP would be able to steal Waymo's tech? Again, you should be, they will.
Or did you mean it the other way around, with Waymo being able to access Chinese self-driving know how? Because, no, that won't be happening. If it did, Waymo would
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Oh Jesus fuck you people are so fucking parochial, and unable to comprehend that things exist outside the US. Like “The Knowledge”, the famous test taken by London black cab drivers to get a licence, which includes questions like “describe the route from eIslington Police Station to the British Museum, listing the streets and turns”. The OP is no doubt also referring to the controversy over the use of satnav, which Uber drivers et al have long used, partly to compensate for their muc
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> Well, those words don't make any sense in that order
Actually they do.
In order to be a Black cab driver in London you still need to pass the knowledge (memorizing over 20 thousand streets and 100 thousand landmarks) and passing multiple tests of that knowledge and when and how to use them (the shortest route is not always the one as the raven flies). Being a Black cab driver allows you access to certain routes and lanes and actions that others may not be allowed to use.
Computers, of course, should be able to memorize many of those details.
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> Are you concerned that the CCP will siphon data from the cars and weaponize it against the British people? You should be, they will.
> Or were you concerned that the CCP would be able to steal Waymo's tech? Again, you should be, they will.
Can you elaborate on this? Weaponize the data? What purpose would that serve and who would benefit? Certainly not China as it would immediately kill the massive cash cow they've built.