Baidu teams with Uber and Lyft for 2026 robotaxi launch, challenges Waymo for Britain’s market
The post Baidu teams with Uber and Lyft for 2026 robotaxi launch, challenges Waymo for Britain’s market appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Baidu is bringing driverless taxis to London starting next year. The company will work with Lyft and Uber to put its Apollo Go self-driving cars on the capital’s streets. The companies made the announcements on social media. Lyft plans to start testing several dozen autonomous vehicles in 2026, pending government approval. David Risher, Lyft’s chief executive, posted on X this Monday that they want to “scale to hundreds from there.” Uber said its first trial should start in the first half of 2026. The company said it’s excited about helping Britain lead in transportation and giving Londoners another safe travel option next year. Baidu now operates in 22 cities and handles more than 250,000 trips weekly, according to the company. It’s racing against Chinese competitors like WeRide and Western giants including Alphabet’s Waymo. Britain has become attractive to driverless car companies after the government decided in June to speed up approval for autonomous vehicles on public roads. Officials want to allow robotaxi pilot programs starting spring 2026. Baidu looks to be among the first operators. London has a “Vision Zero” goal to wipe out all serious injuries and deaths in its transportation system by 2041. Self-driving technology is expected to play a big part. Waymo also eyes London market As reported by Cryptopolitan previously, Waymo is also preparing to test in London, aiming for full service in 2026. The company currently operates or plans to launch in 26 markets, including Tokyo and New York City. Baidu has been pushing hard into international markets, with testing underway in the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland. Ten years ago, robotaxis seemed like science fiction. This year they became a regular transportation choice in big U.S. cities and parts of Asia. Waymo kept expanding and dominates the American robotaxi market. Tesla and Amazon’s Zoox…
