Uber has opened registration for autonomous vehicles within its UK app, indicating that it is accelerating its Robotaxi service in London with Wayve, a UK-based autonomous driving company. Meanwhile, Waymo has also begun testing in the city, making London a key battleground for autonomous mobility companies.

First, open user registration.

On Monday, Uber showcased a Ford Mustang Mach-E equipped with the Wayve self-driving system in London and simultaneously launched an interest registration feature. Users can select their preferred self-driving vehicle in their account settings to increase the likelihood of being matched with a suitable vehicle in the future.

Uber says the service will roll out in the coming months, but is still subject to regulatory approval. Once officially launched, users may be assigned Wayve vehicles when booking a ride through the app, with fares the same as human-driven orders; alternatively, they can choose a human driver.

Human safety officers will still be on board initially.

In the initial phase of operation, Wayve's self-driving vehicles will still have a human safety driver in the driver's seat, before gradually transitioning to fully driverless operation. The in-vehicle interaction system was designed by Uber, including a touch interface that supports 64 languages.

This means that Uber is not only providing a ride-hailing portal, but is also trying to master the passenger experience and operational aspects of autonomous driving mobility services, in preparation for expanding its Robotaxi business in the future.

Waymo has begun road testing in London.

Meanwhile, Alphabet's Waymo began testing self-driving cars in London this April, also with human safety drivers. The company is currently testing approximately 100 Jaguar I-Pace vehicles in an area of about 100 square miles in London.

Uber and Waymo still collaborate in the US, with Waymo vehicles already integrated into Uber's service network in Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. However, Uber has also been investing in several self-driving car companies in the past two years, including Wayve. Wayve completed a $1.2 billion funding round in February, and Uber may invest an additional $300 million if its London deployment progresses.

The UK rules are not yet finalized.

The main factor currently limiting the official launch of Robotaxi in London remains the progress of autonomous driving regulations in the UK. The UK transport authorities opened applications for autonomous driving pilot projects in May and stated that they will proceed with subsequent rule development based on the pilot results.

This means that while several companies are accelerating their deployments, when Robotaxi will enter wider commercial operation in London still depends on the progress of UK regulatory approvals and pilot programs.