Uber launches UK's first robotaxis with a driver

NEW: Uber launches the UK's first robotaxis in London, beating Waymo, with 15 self-driving Ford Mustang EVs running on UK firm Wayve's autonomous tech and safety drivers on board initially.

London just got its first robotaxis, and Uber beat Waymo to it.

Fifteen self-driving Ford Mustang EVs are now taking real passengers, running on tech from British firm Wayve, and here's the launch on the streets today. The cars aren't pre-programmed, the AI reads the road in real time through sensors on the roof and decides on the spot. Very London test too, the BBC's first ride cruised past a Brexit demonstration outside Parliament without blinking.

Before you panic, there's still a human safety driver behind the wheel, and yes, they did intervene once on that first trip. Fares are the same as a normal UberX for now, and Uber says over one hundred thousand Londoners told them they'd take a driverless ride. Waymo and Baidu are circling the same market, and Wayve's boss calls it the space race of our generation.

Fifteen cars today. The race to own London's roads starts now.

This is Liu Yang, reporting for HIT.