The planned launch of autonomous ride services, starting with Uber in 2026, marks a major shift for London’s streets, repositioning mobility as a software-governed infrastructure that will redistribute control over pricing, liability and data, says Paul Armstrong

A structural shift is forming on London’s streets, and too many businesses are still treating it as a transport upgrade rather than an economic rewire. Autonomous vehicles are not about novelty, comfort or futuristic branding. Control over pricing, liability, access and data is what is being redistributed. Once mobility becomes software-governed infrastructure, power consolidates quickly and unwinds slowly.

The trigger is no longer hypothetical. Uber has confirmed plans to launch autonomous ride services in London in the first half of 2026, with rollout volumes expected to remain extremely modest initially before expanding. Framed as incremental experimentation, the move does sound restrained and for good reason. Uber wants to stealthily become the default again.

London is not entering blind. Canary Wharf has already hosted autonomous vehicle trials, and Transport for London has spent years laying regulatory groundwork. What changes in 2026 is commercial intent. Trials are now turning into actual services which can then be sold into procurement long before public opinion and politics can catch up.

Control, not convenience is the goal

Some context, Transport for London currently reports over 100,000 licensed private hire drivers operating in the capital, based on current licensing information. The figure does not represent all active Uber drivers, but it does include them. Before licensing rules were loosened in 2022, the number of drivers working regularly on Uber in London sat closer to........

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