UKApollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, and Freenow, the European mobility platform owned by Lyft, began road testing the RT6 robotaxi in London on 28 July 2026. The two companies plan to take public riders from 2027, subject to regulatory approval.
Testing in Brent
The tests run in the borough of Brent in north-west London, across a mix of urban and suburban streets, and every car carries a safety operator. The RT6 is Apollo Go’s sixth-generation autonomous vehicle. Baidu supplies the cars and the driving software, and Freenow handles local operations. Neither company has published how many vehicles will join the trial.
A second right-hand-drive market
London follows Hong Kong, which Apollo Go counts as its first right-hand-drive market. On 23 July the Hong Kong Transport Department gave Apollo Go the first fully driverless trial permit in any right-hand-drive market, and testing began on Airport Island four days later, with no safety operator on board. London’s trial is still a supervised one.
What stands between testing and passengers
Freenow and Lyft have held discussions with Transport for London and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles. The 2027 date depends on the approvals those talks lead to, and the companies have not said when the safety operators come out of the cars.
