‘Leicester Square, please guv’: Self-driving taxis cleared for London streets ‘later this summer’
📰 source: theguardian_business · 💼 business
uber and wayve have been granted the first minicab licences in london allowing them to offer self-driving taxi rides to paying customers, but with a human safety driver in the driver's seat for now. the companies said trips would start 'later this summer' before a full public launch.
tfl granted 15 private hire vehicle licences to ford mustang mach-e cars equipped with wayve's ai driving software, surround cameras and radar. more than 100,000 londoners are on the waiting list. a tfl-licensed driver will sit in the driver's seat to intervene if needed, though the software is expected to control the car. the next step — operating without a driver — requires a new automated passenger services permit from the government's driver and vehicle standards agency.
uber and wayve are racing waymo and baidu's apollo go to launch in london, making it one of the first cities with american and chinese tech firms on the same roads. not everyone is happy: the gmb union raised concerns about job losses and accident liability. meanwhile, uber reported better-than-expected second-quarter gross bookings of $58.02bn, but warned earnings this quarter would miss forecasts, and outlined plans to spend over $10bn on autonomous vehicles.
why it matters: london becomes ground zero for us-china self-driving competition as uber and wayve launch, threatening traditional minicab drivers.
source: theguardian_business
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