GOOGLE-owned Waymo is bringing its fleet of self-driving robo taxis to London next year – and I’ve already tried them across the pond.
As a technology journalist I was excited to try this potential game-changer on a trip to San Francisco – and the prospect of avoiding small talk with a taxi driver.
No taxi driver also means no need to tip, wonderful.
The actual experience of being driven around by AI without a person sat behind the driver’s seat is not as scary as some may think.
At least, I didn’t feel unsafe.
Despite this, I don’t think they will work in London or the UK for two very key reasons.
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However, both of these issues can be changed by bosses at Alphabet (the company that owns Google and Waymo).
The first snag I noticed was convenience.
It all ran much like Uber, via an app with live information.
But to my annoyance I had to wait 11 minutes until it arrived, which is considerably less than human-operated rivals.
Londoners aren’t going to wait 11 minutes, so there had better be a sizeable fleet.
The second major setback is a big one – price.
You would think that Waymo is cheaper than Uber because there’s no driver to pay for.
I’m afraid not – the Waymo ride I had in the US was a whole $10 more than an Uber.
I don’t know what factors they have to determine price but no-one wants to wait longer for a taxi that costs more – even if they don’t have to tip.
If these are unchanged, Waymo will become nothing more than a gimmick akin to the pedicab tuk tuks that are now commonplace around the capital.
Waymo plans to bring some cars over in the coming weeks for testing with drivers behind the wheel, ahead of a full launch in 2026.
It’ll need to meet regulatory approval first.
“We’re thrilled to bring the reliability, safety and magic of Waymo to Londoners,” said Waymo’s co-chief executive, Tekedra Mawakana.
“Waymo is making roads safer and transportation more accessible where we operate.
“We’ve demonstrated how to responsibly scale fully autonomous ride-hailing, and we can’t wait to expand the benefits of our technology to the United Kingdom.”
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Steve McNamara, general secretary of the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said: “I wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting in a car that I have no control over.
“London is not San Francisco, it is a series of Roman villages stuck together, and there is far more pedestrian traffic than in the US, not to mention all those lunatics on rental bikes.”
Locations where Waymo already operates
- Phoenix
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- Austin
- Atlanta
