Wayve and Uber get TfL licences for London autonomous rides

Transport for London (TfL) has granted Private Hire Vehicle licences to a number of Wayve's autonomous all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles, which are equipped with the Wayve AI Driver and surround cameras and radar. The vehicles were inspected to confirm they meet TfL's policy and safety standards. The licensing completes the “triple-lock” requirement for Private Hire trips, where the operator, driver and vehicle must all hold licences with the same licensing authority. Trips will take place under the Government's AV Trialling Code of Practice and Uber's TfL Private Hire Operator licence. Wayve's vehicles are designed to operate autonomously, and will do the driving, with a trained and TfL-licensed private hire driver onboard to oversee the trip and take over if needed.

Wayve's AI-first approach, known as AV2.0, moves beyond the constraints of traditional AV systems that rely on HD maps, hand-coded rules, or geofenced domains. Instead, Wayve's AI Driver learns from experience like a human driver, enabling it to adapt to new roads, vehicles, weather conditions, and cities. Built and trained on UK roads, Wayve's technology has been testing in London's challenging roads since 2018, and has since demonstrated its adaptability across more than 500 cities worldwide.

Uber says it is focused on making electric, shared, and autonomous transportation a reality. With more than 30 AV partners and millions of autonomous trips completed each year, the company is building the industry's first hybrid network, where autonomous vehicles and drivers work side by side to make transportation more affordable, sustainable, and accessible for all.