Overview
- Transport for London granted private‑hire vehicle licences to a small fleet of Wayve‑modified Ford Mustang Mach‑E cars, completing the operator‑driver‑vehicle “triple‑lock” needed for supervised trips.
- Under the licences a trained, TfL‑licensed human driver must remain on board and legally responsible for each journey while the cars drive themselves.
- Uber and Wayve plan to invite select people from an interest list of roughly 100,000 to take early supervised rides later this summer, with broader roll‑out to follow after feedback and safety checks.
- Operating without a human on board would require a separate Automated Passenger Service permit from national regulators (DVSA/DfT) and explicit local consent from TfL, and the move is drawing scrutiny from unions and London politicians over jobs, safety and oversight.
- Wayve, an AI‑first startup that has trained on UK roads since 2018, is partnering with Uber and vehicle makers such as Ford, Nissan and Stellantis as it moves from testing toward paid passenger service in London.