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The US-based company Waymo has revealed that its driverless cabs will be on offer for hire on London's streets starting next year.

UK Capital Named as First European City for Autonomous Taxi Service.

London will emerge as the inaugural European city to host an autonomous taxi service, similar to those currently operational in San Francisco and four other American urban centers utilizing Waymo's innovative systems.

Preliminary Trials to Commence with Human Specialists.

Waymo stated that its fleet are presently traveling to London and will commence driving on the city's streets in the next few weeks with trained human specialists supervising the vehicles.

The company – initially created as a offshoot from the tech giant's self-driving car initiative and belonging to the same parent group – explained it would scale up operations and collaborate with the government transport body and the city's mobility organization to acquire the required permissions to deliver totally self-driving services by 2026.

Expanding Interest in Self-Driving Mobility In London.

Other organizations, such as Uber and the UK-based tech company Wayve, have likewise declared their own plans to trial autonomous vehicles in the city next year.

This comes after the UK authorities confirming it would speed up guidelines allowing public trials to take place before laws enabling autonomous cars is enacted in full.

“It is exciting that Waymo plans to introduce their offerings to London next year, under our proposed testing initiative,” commented the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander.

“Strengthening the autonomous vehicle market will enhance inclusive mobility choices while also generating jobs, capital, and prospects to the UK. Advanced funding like this will help us deliver our mission to be global pioneers in new technology and lead economic growth.”

Full Rollout Anticipated After Automated Vehicles Act Is Enforced.

A broader deployment of self-driving taxis is anticipated in the UK after the new law fully takes effect in the latter part of 2027.

The Company's Current Connections in the UK and Internationally.

Waymo currently has ties to Britain after establishing its inaugural European engineering hub in Oxford in 2019.

It is also starting operations in Tokyo using Jaguar Land Rover eco-friendly cars, marking its only other existing venture outside the US.

“Evidence confirms how to responsibly scale fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we look forward to extend the positive impacts of our technology to the UK,” said the company executive, noting that the system was “making roads safer and travel more available”.

Established History in the United States.

Waymo launched its autonomous cabs in 2020 and presently states it has served more than 10 million customers in the United States.

Regardless of some troubling incidents, Waymo stated that statistics demonstrated that cars driven by humans were linked to accidents that injured people on foot 12 times more often than its self-driving vehicles.