Things are pretty much already running smoothly for Uber as early as now for 2026. Aside from teaming up with Volkswagen to bring its self-driving ID.Buzz robotaxis in the United States shores, Uber drivers in British Columbia have started to unionize. Ridesharing Forum has more.
Uber robotaxis in the US this 2026
It’s official! Self-driving robotaxis will ply American roads beginning this 2026. The company to provide the electric minivans? Volkswagen.
Volkswagen has partnered with Uber to launch a robotaxi service in Los Angeles. This is a landmark partnership between two of the biggest car-based companies in the world, but it does not promote electric vehicles, challenging industry leaders like Tesla and Waymo.
The cars are Volkswagen’s ID.Buzz AV, which is developed with Israel-based Mobileye. These cars boast a robust sensor suite for Level 4 autonomy. Technical? Understand that this means it can drive on set routes without human drivers.
The features include 13 cameras and nine laser-based sensors for precise mapping, or LiDARs. Such features allow minivans to handle the most complicated urban environments.
However, the test run was met with challenges, which made Volkswagen’s head of autonomous vehicles, Christian Senger, say it’s “not the best driving decision.”
The car struggled when delivery trucks were blocking its path, or were with it into oncoming traffic. But, there are high hopes that the LiDAR technology will enhance reliability in these conditions, including when there are rains or snow.
These cars are already navigating the streets of Hamburg, Germany, but they are in test mode. Yet they are able to combine advanced sensor technology with a practical design that reshapes urban mobility.
This partnership between Uber and Volkswagen will begin with a launch in Los Angeles this 2026. Initially, human drivers will operate them before they biome fully driverless this 2027.
Furthermore, Volkswagen is looking at selling these cars as complete package – think hardware, software, and fleet management – to transport providers, leveraging its manufacturing scale to reduce costs compared to retrofitted electric cars that competitors utilize.
Unionized
Meanwhile, in other Uber news, Uber drivers in British Columbia have unionized. Forming unions is seen as a benefit for parties like drivers whenever they need to air grievances on specific issues while driving for Uber.
“This is a defining moment for the labour movement in Canada,” Shawn Haggerty, national president at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Canada, which spearheaded the union formation, told Ridesharing Forum. “The certification of Uber drivers in Victoria shows that workers in every sector – even in the platform economy – can organize and win. These drivers are setting a national precedent, and UFCW Canada is committed to supporting them every step of the way as they work toward a strong and fair first collective agreement.”
These Uber drivers in Greater Victoria in British Columbia, are the first rideshare workers in Canada to form and join a labor union.
Google’s dictionary and Oxford Languages define labor unions as “organized associations of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests.”