Uber tells London to get ready for robotaxis

Uber is getting ready to put robotaxis on London’s streets, opening an interest list for riders who want to be among the first to hail one of Wayve’s autonomous vehicles when the service goes live later this year. The rollout would be a milestone in one of Uber’s biggest markets and an early test of whether there’s appetite for driverless ridehailing beyond the US and China, where robotaxis are already carrying passengers. The company is asking Londoners to show their interest in being among the first public passengers in its co-branded Uber x Wayve driverless cars. In the Uber app settings, customers can sign up by selecting “join interest list” in the “autonomous vehicles” section of “ride preferences.” Uber says joining the list will “increase their chances of being matched with a Wayve autonomous vehicle at launch” and keep them updated on the service launch. Neither Uber nor Wayve, a British startup based in London, would give an exact launch date, though both companies said the service will go live “in the coming months.” Customers matched with a Wayve vehicle will be notified in the Uber app and given the option to switch to a non-autonomous vehicle ride. Uber says riders requesting UberX, Uber Electric, or Uber Comfort will pay the same rate, with “no additional cost” for taking the autonomous vehicle. …