Google · BBC Technology
Uber rolls out UK's first robotaxis with a driver - here's what it's like to ride in one
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Londoners are able to hail the UK's first robotaxis - as Uber today becomes the first company to launch a self-driving minicab.
Key facts
- The safety driver gave me a 30-second safety briefing, and then they were off, making their way down the busy streets of central London
- Prof Siddartha Khastgir, head of safe autonomy at the University of Warwick's Warwick Manufacturing Group said there were numerous safety challenges for regulators to consider
- Uber to cut over 3,000 jobs in major global restructuring
- Uber said it surveyed London-based customers via the app and more than 100,000 said they would choose a self-driving taxi if one was available, despite incidents of driverless rides malfunctioning
Summary
Initially, it only has 15 autonomous vehicles with a licence to operate in the city, and each one must have a human safety driver behind the wheel ready to take control if anything goes wrong. Uber said it surveyed London-based customers via the app and more than 100,000 said they would choose a self-driving taxi if one was available, despite incidents of driverless rides malfunctioning in US cities where they already operate. As the reporter found out when the reporter became the first UK journalist to hail one, it was mostly smooth but the safety driver did intervene on one occasion. At the moment the UK fare for a robotaxi ride will be the same fare as a standard UberX, Uber Electric, or Uber Comfort journey, with upfront fares shown in the app.