London just got its own robotaxis — and this is no drill. Baidu and Freenow by Lyft have put autonomous Apollo Go RT6 vehicles on the streets of the British capital. The companies announced the move on 28 July 2026. The first runs are taking place in Brent, in west and north-west London.
For now, there’s still a human in the driver’s seat: the sixth-generation RT6s are testing with safety operators on board. Routes cover both city streets and suburban roads — Brent is a perfect fit, blending both types of environment. Baidu supplies the vehicles and the self-driving system, while Freenow handles local fleet operations on the ground.
Safety operators are only the beginning. The partners hope to secure approvals and open rides to regular passengers as early as 2027. RT6s won’t replace traditional taxis either — robots and human drivers are set to work side by side in one shared network. Tarantas News previously reported that Stellantis, Wayve and Uber struck their own global robotaxi deal — competition for London’s roads, and beyond, is heating up.
Baidu’s scale is already impressive. By April 2026, the company says its Apollo Go service had completed more than 22 million passenger rides. In the first quarter alone, it logged 3.2 million fully driverless trips. By May, the network covered 27 cities, with total autonomous mileage topping 330 million km. An exact launch date for passenger rides in London hasn’t been announced yet.
