Robotaxis go live for hire: London gets its first, Vegas robotaxis reach the airport
Londoners can now book a Wayve-Uber self-driving cab with a safety driver aboard, while Amazon's Zoox starts airport runs in Las Vegas under a temporary US safety exemption.
What happened: On the same day, self-driving taxis took a real step into everyday use on two continents. In London, Wayve's autonomous Ford Mustangs went live on the Uber app, with a licensed human still sitting in the driver's seat ready to take over. Only 15 cars are running so far, versus over 100,000 licensed private hire vehicles in the city. In Las Vegas, Amazon's Zoox — whose boxy pod has no steering wheel or pedals — extended its paid robotaxi service to Harry Reid International Airport, picking riders up near baggage claim, ahead of Uber and Lyft's curbside spots.
Why it matters: These are the clearest signs yet that robotaxis are moving from pilot projects to paid, everyday transport in major cities. London is a symbolic prize: dense, chaotic streets that companies see as proof their tech can handle anywhere. Vegas shows the next phase — real commercial permits (Zoox, Tesla, Uber, Waymo could deploy up to 8,000 vehicles in the county within a year) and airport access, a lucrative route ride-hailing apps fight over. But neither city has fully driverless taxis yet, and drivers' unions are already flagging the scale of jobs at stake.
How it works, plainly: Wayve's cars use an AI system trained to drive by learning patterns rather than relying on pre-built maps like rival Waymo; a safety driver in London still supervises every trip because full driverless approval needs separate UK government sign-off, unlikely this year. Zoox's vehicle is purpose-built with no manual controls at all, but it can only legally operate in the US because regulators gave it a two-year exemption from eight federal vehicle-safety standards, including things like windshield defrosting rules, not because it met them outright.
The rollout: Wayve says it's working in parallel on three things before dropping safety drivers: proving the tech, shifting to mass-produced Nissan Leaf robotaxis, and winning regulatory approval — with no firm date. Uber, which also ran Europe's first robotaxi in Zagreb this summer with a driver aboard, says AVs will get cheaper and safer 'over time' but isn't there yet. Zoox, meanwhile, is already testing in San Diego and Houston, using its exemption to expand fast while it still can.