A Day After Nigeria Exit, Uber Launches First UK Driverless Rides

Barely 24 hours after exiting its Nigerian operations, Uber, in collaboration with Wayve, has launched supervised autonomous rides in London, marking the first time autonomous trips have been available to the public in the United Kingdom.

Starting Thursday, September 3 (today), riders across London requesting UberX, Uber Electric, or Uber Comfort may be matched with an all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E equipped with Wayve’s AI Driver — at no extra cost.

The Associated Press photo

“London is a world-class hub for transportation innovation and this launch is a major milestone in scaling safe, accessible AV technology in a city with some of the world’s most complex roads. We’re excited to give Londoners – and visitors – a new way to get around the city with Uber,” the ride-hailing company said in a statement.

• See Also : Uber Exits Nigeria After 12 Years, Leaves Bolt And inDrive To Battle For Riders

The Associated Press photo

Despite incidents involving driverless rides malfunctioning, Uber said it surveyed London-based customers through the Ride Preferences section of its app, and more than 140,000 Londoners said they would choose a self-driving taxi if one were available.

At launch, 15 autonomous vehicles will operate in the city, with each initially offering supervised autonomous rides that require a trained and TfL-licensed private hire driver to be behind the wheel and ready to take control if anything goes wrong.

The Associated Press photo

“We’re starting with a small number of vehicles in this initial phase and will grow thoughtfully over time in line with rider demand, readiness, and regulation,” Uber added in a statement.

Uber’s Ford Mustang electric vehicle fleet is fitted with the UK tech firm Wayve’s “AV2.0”, a driverless car technology that allows the vehicles to scale and adapt to complex environments without relying on traditional HD maps or hand-coded rules.

• See Also : Comedian AY Rides Driverless Jaguar I-PACE Robotaxi In The US, Reacts To Futuristic Technology