In the United Kingdom, Baidu has initiated testing of its autonomous vehicles in London, marking a significant step in its collaboration with Lyft and Freenow. This testing commenced on a Tuesday, with human safety operators present in the vehicles to ensure safety during the trials. The partnership between Baidu and Lyft was established nearly a year prior, aiming to deploy Baidu's Apollo Go RT6 robotaxi across key European markets through the Lyft platform. The vehicles are expected to be available for public use via Freenow, which Lyft acquired in 2025 for approximately $197 million. This acquisition allowed Lyft to gain a foothold in the competitive European ride-hailing market, where several well-funded companies are vying to be the first to launch robotaxi services. London has emerged as a crucial battleground for these companies, with other major players like Waymo and Uber also testing their autonomous technologies in the city. Waymo began its testing in April, while Uber, in partnership with Wayve, announced plans to launch a robotaxi service in London within the same year. This initial service will also feature human safety operators before transitioning to fully driverless operations. Baidu and Freenow have set a tentative goal to allow the public to hail their robotaxis by 2027, although this timeline is contingent upon receiving regulatory approval. Currently, dozens of test vehicles are operating in the borough of Brent, and discussions with safety and city officials, including Transport for London and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, are ongoing. The UK government is actively working on creating regulations for autonomous vehicles and has opened applications for companies interested in participating in a pilot program that allows testing of self-driving vehicles under government oversight. When the service is eventually launched, Freenow by Lyft plans to operate a hybrid network, which will include both human drivers and robotaxis, ensuring that the introduction of autonomous technology supports the professional drivers who are integral to London's transportation system. Thomas Zimmermann, CEO of Freenow by Lyft, emphasized the importance of this approach in a recent statement.
