Oct 15 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Waymo plans to

launch its fully driverless ride-hailing service in London in

2026, the robotaxi firm said on Wednesday, as it looks to expand

its footprint to major international cities.

Waymo has grown slowly but steadily over the years in the

United States despite tough regulations and expensive

technology. Now, it is picking up speed through partnerships

with ride-hailing platforms and fleet operators at a time when

Tesla is rolling out its long-promised robotaxi service

in the country.

Earlier this year, Waymo started collecting data in Tokyo,

Japan and testing its vehicles operated by human drivers in

cooperation with Japanese taxi firm Nihon Kotsu and with Go,

which operates a mobile app for hailing taxi rides.

In London, Waymo said it will collaborate with vehicle

financing firm Moove as it prepares for the rollout, and is

actively engaging with local and national regulators to secure

necessary approvals.

Waymo vehicles are now on the way to London, where safety

drivers will start testing the vehicles before fully autonomous

operations begin next year, a Waymo spokesperson said.

Waymo currently serves more than 250,000 paid trips every

week with about 1,500 vehicles in U.S. cities such as San

Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Arizona, Atlanta, Georgia and

Austin, Texas.

Waymo has partnered with Moove to handle its fleet

operations, facilities and charging infrastructure in Phoenix

and next year in Miami, Florida.

Ride-hailing firm Uber ( UBER ), which offers Waymo vehicles

on its app in Atlanta and Austin, announced in June plans to

trial fully driverless rides in the UK from spring 2026 through

its partnership with AI startup Wayve.

Commercializing autonomous vehicles has proven difficult in

the U.S. amid setbacks for several companies, including General

Motors' ( GM ) Cruise, due to collisions, recalls and federal

investigations.

(Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru and Abhirup Roy in San

Francisco; Editing by Leroy Leo and Lincoln Feast.)