Uber said it is now "ready" with driverless taxis in the UK - but the government has abandoned the date it expects to approve fully autonomous vehicles.

The previous administration said that fully autonomous cars “will be on the road in 2026,” but the new administration said it is more likely to happen in the second half of 2027 now.

Although limited Autonomous driving technology has been allowed on UK roads, and even with automation, human drivers must be on the wheels and take charge of the vehicle.

and Some companies have tried more advanced technology on UK streets, and I used a system developed by British AI company Wayve to perform autonomous driving in central London.

"We are going to open robots in the UK," said Andrew MacDonald, senior vice president of liquidity at Uber.

The ride-hailing company is working with 18 automation car technology companies, including Wayve.

This is one of several companies that have already provided robots in the United States.

They are also on the roads in China, the UAE and Singapore.

But Mr. MacDonald disagrees behind Britain in the rest of the world, believing that the United States and China are largely because this is where most technologies develop.

"We are working quickly and will implement autonomous vehicle legislation in the second half of 2027," the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

It added: “We are also exploring short-term trials and pilot options to create the right conditions for the thriving autonomous driving sector.”

In the United States, Mr. McDonald said robots usually work 20 hours a day, seven days a week.

Even if no drivers have to pay, Uber says the fare is currently the same as those behind humans.

If available, the option appears on the application and the customer can choose to enter and exit.

This is partly because, besides the regulatory environment, another potential barrier to its absorption is the public's silence on traveling in self-driving cars.

A 2024 poll by YouGov showed that 37% of Britons would feel “very unsafe” to travel without a driver.

But Mr. McDonald insists that the initial tension of new clients is short-lived and that it quickly experiences “becoming a new routine.”

That must be my experience on our cycling.

I was a Ford Mach-E with Wayve's self-driving sensors and software.

It uses radar and seven cameras. On startup, there is a computer running AI-powered software that can process all sensor data in real time and control the car's response.

Automated technology does not require a free ride to handle a variety of situations, including pedestrians on the road, parked cars, heavy traffic, temporary traffic lights and delivery bikes.

Our safety driver George didn't touch the controls at once, and a big red button immediately turned off the automation system.

If anything, the robot ride is more patient than my city driver and has no sound, then it will be much less talkative.

Is it still being investigated that is more or less safer than human-driven vehicles.

But many studies show that automated vehicles are more likely to be accidents than human drivers, according to U.S. data.

But in the country they operate, many incidents involving robots have occurred, from road accidents to locked passengers.

In January, a man in Arizona, USA recorded how his robot was circled in an airport parking lot and was trapped in a car and unable to park or get help.

General Motors suspended its driverless taxi service in San Francisco in 2023 due to safety concerns.

“The reality is that there are too many accidents,” Uber said Mr. McDonald.

“That is, with electric cars (electric cars), human drivers…we operate in the real world and things happen.”

In the UK, there are practical issues regarding insurance, ownership and liability when autonomous vehicles are involved in accidents. Mr. McDonald said they are still working out.

Tom Leggett, vehicle technology manager at Thatcham Research, an independent automotive safety center, said Robotaxis must be "safety-led".

“Secondly, they will have to ensure that the people who need the data – insurance companies and investigate the data when the incident occurs.”

The government said self-driving cars have the potential to “build a £4.2 billion industry that offers 38,000 jobs by 2035.”

But of course, for those who drive for a living, they are a source of attention.

GMB State Secretary Andy Prendergast said that for workers and the public, “important social implications” driverless cars and taxis may have, such as potential jobs or job losses.

Meanwhile, Uber’s Macdonald believes that automated vehicles will change the way many people travel in the near future.

He said, "I have kids."

"I think my daughter will definitely get a driver's license when she is 16?" (The legal age of his home country, Canada).

“No-I think the world is changing a lot.”

Other reports by Liv McMahon