
Britain built a legal route to driverless taxis in May. London’s first robotaxi service did not use it.
THE SO WHAT
Wayve and Uber choosing a human-in-the-loop private hire model instead of the UK’s new driverless taxi regime shows operators still value regulatory and social cover over pure autonomy. If you’re planning AV deployments, budget for hybrid operations—licensed drivers, safety operators, or remote oversight—longer than the legislation headlines might suggest.
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