Uber and British tech company Wayve are set to launch London's first self-driving taxi service, beginning with a small number of Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicles equipped with Wayve's autonomous driving technology. The service will start with fewer than 20 vehicles and will initially include a human safety driver, as required by the U.K. government's current pilot framework. This framework mandates that autonomous vehicles have a human present until approval is granted for fully driverless operation, though no specific timeline has been announced for such approval. Passengers using the Uber app in London may be matched with a Wayve vehicle when they hail a ride, but they won't be able to specifically request a robotaxi. They can choose to accept or reject the match. The cost of a ride in a Wayve vehicle will be the same as a regular Uber ride, and passengers will not be asked to tip at the end of their trip. Compared to the U.S. and China, where self-driving taxis already operate without human drivers in several cities, Europe has adopted a more cautious approach. London's complex road conditions, including narrow streets and unpredictable pedestrian behavior, present unique challenges for autonomous vehicles. The U.K. government is currently working on national regulations to manage the integration of self-driving cars into everyday transportation. Other companies, such as Waymo and Baidu, are also planning to offer commercial robotaxi services in London. Uber previously launched its first European robotaxi service in Zagreb, Croatia, in partnership with local and Chinese companies, but that service still requires human safety drivers. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Waymo operates fully autonomous taxi services in 14 cities, and companies like Amazon's Zoox and Tesla are also developing similar services. In China, Baidu, WeRide, and Pony.ai provide robotaxi services in multiple cities and are expanding into the Middle East through partnerships with Uber and local operators.