- Uber users in London could find their next ride is autonomous
- Safety drivers will be deployed during the initial pilot phase
- Just 15 Wayve Ford Mustang Mach-E models will be on duty
Almost a month after Transport for London (TfL) awarded a private hire license to Wayve’s fully autonomous taxis, Uber has announced that the service is now live, with users of its ride-hailing app able to bag a ride in one of its “driverless” cabs.
The vehicles, which are bespoke Ford Mustang Mach-E models that Wayve has fitted with radar, Lidar and a whole host of other sensors, will operate in an area that covers most of Greater London, stretching to Bexley in the east, Barnet in the north and just shy of Rickmansworth in the northwest.
During the initial phase, Uber says a TfL-certified taxi driver will be in the driver's seat to supervise the trip, although it hasn’t yet revealed exact dates for when it plans to operate a completely driverless service.
However, with just 15 Wayve vehicles on the 100,000-strong London Uber fleet, the chances of being matched with an autonomous vehicle (AV) are slim.
Those chosen riders will be matched with a vehicle much in the same way as it currently works, although they'll see an icon in the app marked “unlock vehicle" when it has arrived.
This will unlock the doors, and users can then start the journey either in the app or via a screen inside the vehicle. Uber says it will still encourage users to rate their ride once it has finished, as is the case with the remainder of its fleet.
According to Autocar, the vehicles use Wayve’s latest generation of self-driving technology, dubbed AV 2.0, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to make decisions for itself, rather than relying on a remote teleoperator.
Because the vehicles can quickly apply these “learnings", garnered over years of testing, the AVs (automated vehicles) can operate outside of a tightly geofenced area, as is the case with Tesla’s current operation in Austin, Texas, although that area is expanding.
How to boost your chances of flagging down an autonomous Uber
Uber says users can increase their chances of matching with a Wayve vehicle by making sure they have the most up-to-date version of the app.
It is then important to tap the “Account” button in the right corner of the home screen, head to Settings within that page and scroll down to Ride Preferences.
Within that submenu, there will be a section dedicated to autonomous vehicles, where users can turn on AV preferences to boost their chances of experiencing the first public autonomous taxis in the UK.
But as previously mentioned, with only 15 Wayve vehicles currently in operation, it is highly likely a regular human driver will be pulling up instead.
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