Waymo UK: Driverless taxis coming to London 'this year' - the same cars that stopped in San Francisco streets during power outage

Waymo, Google's driverless car division, has confirmed its self-driving cars will be fully operational by the end of 2026, assuming regulators give the go-ahead. There are around 24 Waymo vehicles currently roaming the streets of London, although they are driven by humans.

The next phase will be testing with a safety driver at the wheel, following the code of practice laid out by the government for autonomous vehicles. The third and final phase will be when the driverless cars hit the streets and Londoners can be driven to their destination by their car.

"Our intent is to open to riders later this year. That's contingent on government approvals," Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher told Sky News. Minister for local transport Lilian Greenwood MP enthusiastically greeted the news of Waymo's arrival, saying: "We're delighted that you chose London as your first European city."

She said "government must be in the driving seat", adding: "We're committed to putting safety and security first." Waymo emphasised the safety record of the cars, saying they were significantly safer than human drivers, especially for pedestrians or cyclists.

In San Francisco and the Bay Area, Waymo's biggest market, it has around 1,000 vehicles. In Los Angeles, it has 700. In San Francisco, the Waymo vehicles stopped in the street during a power outage in the US city in December.

Videos posted to social media showed Waymo robotaxis halted in the middle of city streets and intersections with their hazard lights flashing, as traffic jams grew and drivers zigzagged around the stopped cars. "While the Waymo Driver is designed to treat non-functional signals as four-way stops, the sheer scale of the outage led to instances where vehicles remained stationary longer than usual to confirm the state of the affected intersections," a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement provided to the BBC.

That "contributed to traffic friction during the height of the congestion," they added. But, the majority of Waymo's active trips were completed before vehicles were returned to depots or pulled over, the spokesperson said.