UK (Washington Insider) – Uber and Lyft will test Baidu’s
Apollo robotaxis in the UK in 2026, starting with dozens of vehicles. London’s
Vision Zero plan and Waymo, WeRide, also expand autonomous trials globally.
As International The News reported, Uber Technologies and
Lyft have announced separate agreements with Chinese technology company Baidu
to test robotaxi services in the United Kingdom. The trials will use Baidu’s
Apollo autonomous driving system, which is already in operation in several
Chinese cities.
He said in a post on X,
“Riders across the city will be the first in the
region to experience Baidu’s Apollo Go vehicles. We expect to start testing our
initial fleet with dozens of vehicles next year – pending regulatory approval –
through the Lyft and Freenow ecosystem, with plans to scale to hundreds from
there.”
What are Uber and
Lyft planning with Baidu Robotaxis in the UK in 2026?
Lyft chief executive David Risher said the company plans to
introduce an initial fleet of dozens of robotaxis in 2026. The companies said
the vehicles will be available through their existing ride-hailing apps and
will operate under regulated trial conditions.
The company said,
“We are excited to accelerate Britain’s leadership
in the future of mobility, bringing another safe and reliable travel option to
Londoners next year.”
The latest robotaxi trials are set to strengthen Baidu’s
expanding role in the global self-driving car market as competition grows with
companies such as Alphabet-owned Waymo and WeRide. Officials mentioned that
Baidu has
moved steadily beyond China by launching driverless vehicle projects in
several countries.
The company is now among a small group of firms running
autonomous vehicles in real traffic conditions across different regions.
The city of London has also established a “Vision
Zero” policy that aims to eliminate serious injuries and deaths due to
transport accidents by 2041. The local authorities view the introduction of new
technology for vehicles as an integral component of improving safety on the
roads.
Competition among companies operating within the United
Kingdom has already started to grow, with Waymo expected to commence its pilot
projects in London later this month, while WeRide and Baidu have initiated
services in both the Middle East and Switzerland.
Baidu launched its Apollo platform into the robotaxi market
in 2017, followed shortly thereafter with the start of its public robotaxi
trials in these two largest cities in China, Beijing and Wuhan, from 2020 to
2022 and has reported millions of completed rides since then.
The Waymo division of Google has tested its autonomous
ride-hailing service in the USA since 2018, and has since expanded into
additional cities like Phoenix and San Francisco by 2023.
WeRide began operating in other regions of the world in 2023
with projects in both the Middle East and Europe, after being founded in 2017.
The United Kingdom also enacted important legislation related to
autonomous vehicle use in 2023, and in early 2024, the
government announced that they would be allowed to drive on highways during the
Spring of 2026.
