Uber, Lyft set to trial robotaxis in the UK in partnership with China's Baidu

A Baidu Apollo RT6 robotaxi during Baidu's Apollo Day in Wuhan, China, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesChinese tech giant Baidu has announced plans to bring robotaxis to London starting next year through its partnerships with Lyft and Uber, as the UK emerges as a growing autonomous vehicle battleground.The announced collaborations will bring Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous vehicles to the British capital through the Uber and Lyft platforms, the companies said on their respective social media accounts. Lyft's testing of Baidu's initial fleet of dozens of vehicles will begin in 2026, pending regulatory approval, "with plans to scale to hundreds from there," Lyft CEO David Risher said in a post on social media platform X on Monday.Meanwhile, Uber said that its first pilot is expected to start in the first half of 2026. "We're excited to accelerate Britain's leadership in the future of mobility, bringing another safe and reliable travel option to Londoners next year," the company added.The moves add to Baidu's growing global footprint, which it says includes 22 cities and more than 250,000 weekly trips, as it races against other Chinese players like WeRide and Western giants like Alphabet's Waymo. The UK, in particular, has seen a wave of interest from driverless taxi companies, following the government's announcement in June that it would accelerate its plans to allow autonomous vehicle tech on public roads. The government now aims to begin permitting robotaxis to operate in small-scale pilots starting in spring 2026, with Baidu likely aiming to be amongst the first. The city of London has also established a "Vision Zero" goal to eliminate all serious injuries and deaths in its transportation systems by 2041, with autonomous driving technology expected to play a large role. News of Baidu pilots comes as its competitor Waymo also looks to begin testing in London, with plans for a full service launch in 2026. Waymo currently operates or plans to launch a service or test its fleet in 26 markets, including major cities like Tokyo and New York City.Baidu, for its part, has been aggressively expanding in the U.S., with testing rolling out in international markets like the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland.