Uber and Wayve win London approval for self-driving ridesUber Technologies and Wayve secured regulatory approval to offer supervised autonomous rides in London, after Transport for London granted private-hire vehicle licenses to a number of Wayve's autonomous vehicles on Wednesday.The licensed vehicles are all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E cars equipped with Wayve's AI Driver system and surround cameras and radar, the companies said. Each trip will include a trained and TfL-licensed private-hire driver onboard to monitor the ride and take control if needed.The vehicle licenses complete what the companies describe as a "triple-lock" requirement for private-hire trips, under which the operator, driver, and vehicle must each hold licenses from the same licensing authority. Trips will operate under the U.K. government's AV Trialling Code of Practice and Uber's existing TfL private-hire operator license.AdvertisementAdvertisementSelect riders who registered on Uber's interest list will be invited to take early trips later this summer, with a full public launch to follow. More than 100,000 Londoners have signed up to the interest list over the past eight weeks, the companies said."This licence is a key milestone in bringing autonomous rides to London on Uber," Annie Duvnjak, Uber's global head of autonomous mobility operations, said in a statement. "Our interest list has seen an incredible response from Londoners who are excited to experience Wayve's British-built autonomous driving technology."Sarah Gates, Wayve's VP of global affairs and assurance, said in a statement that the approval moves the company closer to "safer, cleaner and quieter streets" and reflects continued collaboration with regulators and communities.Wayve, founded in 2017, has been testing its autonomous driving technology on London roads since 2018 and says its system has demonstrated adaptability across more than 500 cities worldwide, according to the company. Unlike some autonomous vehicle systems that rely on high-definition maps or fixed geographic zones, Wayve's approach uses AI that learns from experience to adapt to new environments, the company said.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe London approval comes as several global robotaxi companies move to establish positions in the city. Baidu announced last week that its Apollo Go ride-hailing platform had commenced road testing in London through a partnership with Freenow, with passenger service set to debut next year, according to The Wall Street Journal. Alphabet's Waymo also plans to offer robotaxi services in London this year.Uber has more than 30 autonomous vehicle partners and says its network logs millions of autonomous trips each year, the company said.