Key facts
- Lyft and Baidu will commence testing of autonomous vehicles in London within weeks.
- The companies aim to establish commercial robotaxi operations in London by the end of the year.
- Lyft will manage the fleet and marketing, with Baidu supplying the vehicles and technology.
- This initiative follows a similar announcement from British startup Wayve, which plans to launch its robotaxi service with Uber this summer.
- Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, also intends to deploy driverless vehicles in London by the end of 2026.
Chinese tech giant Baidu, in partnership with US ride-hailing platform Lyft, is set to begin testing its autonomous vehicles on London streets in the coming weeks. Lyft executive Jeremy Bird confirmed the imminent deployment, stating that the vehicles need to pass inspections before they can operate. The companies aim to launch commercial robotaxi services in London by the end of this year.
This development positions London for a significant shift in its taxi services, potentially becoming the first European city with commercial robotaxi operations. The move by Baidu and Lyft follows a similar announcement from British startup Wayve, which is preparing to launch its own robotaxi service with Uber as early as this summer. However, fully driverless rides may still be some time away, as Wayve plans to initially deploy vehicles with safety operators present.
Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet and a global leader in driverless car technology, also has plans to introduce its driverless vehicles in London by the end of 2026, following extensive mapping of the city. Baidu's autonomous vehicle arm, Apollo Go, currently operates in 27 Chinese cities and Dubai, having provided 3.4 million driverless rides in the final quarter of last year. Lyft will be responsible for managing the fleet and marketing the service through its app, while Baidu will provide the vehicles and underlying technology. Initial fares are expected to be comparable to those of human-driven taxis.