Waymo's self-driving cars face their toughest test yet: London
- Reference: 1776242707
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/04/15/waymo_london/
- Source link:
The Alphabet-owned biz began putting vehicles on London streets in October, initially with a human driver in control, as it started teaching its software how to cope with a city that treats road rules more like suggestions.
It's now [1]shifting into a phase where the system is actively handling the driving while a trained operator sits ready to intervene. The move is being framed as a step toward a commercial robotaxi service, though for now the "autonomous" part still comes with a safety net.
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London is the real test. There are none of the wide, predictable US roads here – just cramped streets, messy junctions, cyclists threading the needle, and pedestrians crossing whenever it suits them. If the system survives that, it might survive anything.
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Waymo is still very much in learning mode. The cars are mapping streets, observing behavior, and feeding data back into the system, which is then hammered in simulation to replay everything from the mundane to the mildly terrifying. The goal is to build a model that doesn't just follow rules, but can deal with the fact that plenty of road users don't.
[5]Waymo launching China-made van that won't fail in rain, snow, or gloom of night
[6]Uber and Lyft rolling Baidu robotaxis into London next year
[7]Musk distracts from struggling car biz with fantastical promise to make 1 million humanoid robots a year
[8]California cops confused after trying to give ticket to self-driving car
It is drawing on experience from US deployments, where it already runs driverless services in cities including Phoenix and San Francisco. London's a different job, and Waymo knows it.
The company says it's building out a local team and lining up partners to support operations in the UK, including plans for service hubs across London.
There's also a regulatory angle lurking just beneath the surface. The UK is still working through how and when fully autonomous vehicles will be allowed on public roads. By showing progress now, Waymo is effectively making the case that it should be first in line when the green light eventually comes.
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The robotaxi future is inching closer, but in London at least, it's arriving with a chaperone. ®
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[1] https://waymo.com/intl/jp/blog/shorts/autonomous-driving-in-london/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ad9hv895hvEshgcT9SSNXgAAAoU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ad9hv895hvEshgcT9SSNXgAAAoU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ad9hv895hvEshgcT9SSNXgAAAoU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/12/waymo_6th_gen_autonomous_driving_system/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/23/london_robo_taxi_trials_2026/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/29/truth_telling_man_always_tells_truth/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/29/california_cops_self_driving/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ad9hv895hvEshgcT9SSNXgAAAoU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
I hope Waymo can fully implement the
"bloody cyclists, pay some f***** road tax, you almost made me drop me phone!"
mode.
Video recording needed
For the cyclists who run red lights and then complain when they are hit.
Re: Video recording needed
And the ones who scream abuse at pedestrians who won't get out of their way on the pavement.
Re: Video recording needed
"...cyclists who run red lights..."
On the very rare occasion that I go to that London I have never seen that.
It's years since I went to London. This seems like a good reason to keep it that way.
London? Pah!
I'll raise you to Delhi
I can't wait, I'm sure the cabbies will welcome them with open arms and a friendly cockney/Essex greeting.
Me, while I really dislike the idea of Johnny cabs, I would absolutely use one to piss off the hackney cab drivers and avoid the stream of racist daily mail bullshit
Judging by my recent forays into central London, pub goers are already doing their best to stress test Waymo's safety features. Last weekend's antics included two chaps sprinting to overtake the Waymo before stopping as close in front of it as they could without getting hit. The Waymo passed UAT
my prediction...
is that the waymos will need constant human input, either on-board or remote, to get them through the narrow gaps with which they seem to struggle and which are a constant feature of Lahndan driving.
I would like to propose some Reg shorthand syntax for describing self driving tech in the UK. If it requires a human "just in case" we should describe it as "Chaper-On" and if it doesn't it is is "Chaper-Off".
e.g. "In a landmark decision by the UK government, it Waymo has been deemed safe enough to become chaper-off".