Peter Kay's Been Busy!My First Ride in a Driverless Waymo Ojai in Orlando

Orlando. Home of Mickey Mouse, rollercoasters, ridiculously oversized portions of food and Americans who think a 20-minute drive is just popping round the corner.

It's a place where you can spend the morning flying through space, the afternoon being chased by dinosaurs and the evening watching a castle explode into a million pounds' worth of fireworks.

But apparently, none of that is futuristic enough anymore.

Because now the bloody taxis drive themselves.

And not just any taxi. This was the brand-new Waymo Ojai, a purpose-built electric robotaxi that looks like somebody crossed a futuristic minibus with a toaster.

What Time You On Till? 😂

Anyone who's ever watched Peter Kay will know exactly where this is going.

You get in a taxi, sit down, put your seatbelt on and, as is British tradition, immediately ask the driver:

"WHAT TIME YOU ON TILL?"

It's practically the law.

Along with "Been busy tonight?", "What time did you start?" and the classic "Anywhere here's fine, mate."

Except this time, there was a slight problem.

THERE WAS NOBODY BLOODY DRIVING IT.

No driver. No awkward small talk. Nobody telling you they've only just started their shift. Nobody explaining that they normally don't work Fridays.

Just an empty driver's seat, a steering wheel moving by itself and me wondering whether I'd accidentally climbed into an episode of Black Mirror.

Meet the Waymo Ojai – The Taxi That Doesn't Need Dave

Now, this is where it gets properly interesting.

The car was a Waymo Ojai, pronounced "Oh-hi", which is quite fitting for a taxi that doesn't have anyone to say hello to.

It's Waymo's sixth-generation autonomous vehicle, purpose-built for carrying passengers without a human driver.

The vehicle itself is manufactured by Chinese electric car company Zeekr, part of the Geely automotive group, before being fitted with Waymo's self-driving technology in Arizona.

And unlike the earlier Jaguar I-PACE robotaxis, this one has been designed specifically with the driverless taxi experience in mind.

It has a spacious interior, a low floor for easier access and room for four passengers.

Although I still reckon there's something deeply unnatural about sitting in a car and watching the steering wheel turn without anybody touching it.

It's like Herbie the Love Bug's finally landed a job with Uber.

More Cameras Than a Disney Vlogger

Here's where the technology gets absolutely bonkers.

The Ojai is equipped with:

• More than 13 cameras monitoring its surroundings.
• Four LiDAR sensors using laser light to map the world around it.
• Six radar sensors helping detect objects and movement.
• A 268-horsepower electric motor, because apparently even robots need a bit of poke.
• A 93 kWh battery, making it fully electric.
• Ten little windscreen wipers dedicated to cleaning its sensors.

Yes. You read that last one correctly.

TEN WIPERS FOR ITS SENSORS.

This thing has more cameras than I've taken to Walt Disney World, more sensors than a Formula 1 car's Christmas tree and enough computing power to make my laptop feel inadequate.

And all of that technology is working together to do something your average British taxi driver has been doing for decades.

Get you from A to B.

Without telling you about the roadworks.

So How Does It Actually Drive?

The clever bit is Waymo's autonomous driving system.

The cameras, radar and LiDAR sensors constantly build a picture of what's happening around the vehicle.

Other cars, pedestrians, cyclists, traffic lights, junctions and all the other things Orlando throws at motorists.

The car uses that information to work out where it is, what's happening around it and what it needs to do next.

It can steer, accelerate, brake and navigate its approved operating area without somebody sitting behind the wheel.

And being electric, it does all this remarkably quietly.

Meanwhile, I'm in the back thinking:

"That's clever, mate, but you've missed the turn for the pub."

The really impressive thing is how normal the whole idea starts to feel.

We've spent decades watching futuristic cars in films.

KITT in Knight Rider could talk. Herbie had a personality. The DeLorean could travel through time.

And now we've got a real car that comes to collect you without a driver.

Although, disappointingly, there's still no flux capacitor.

Orlando Has Officially Gone Full Sci-Fi

Waymo opened its Orlando service to the general public in April 2026, and its driverless taxis are now another way of getting around parts of the city.

For a place that already thrives on making the impossible feel possible, it seems strangely appropriate.

Think about it.

You can spend the morning at Disney's Hollywood Studios watching Star Wars come to life, head to EPCOT and ride a simulated mission through space, then climb into a vehicle where the driver simply doesn't exist.

Disney spends billions creating illusions of futuristic transport.

Waymo just sends an empty car to pick you up.

And somehow that's even more surreal.

The Most British Problem With Driverless Cars

Now, I appreciate the technology is impressive.

I really do.

But I can't help thinking that nobody designing these things has considered the British passenger.

Because what exactly are we supposed to do without taxi small talk?

Who do we tell that the weather's been lovely?

Who do we complain to about the traffic?

Who gets the obligatory "Cheers, drive safe!" when we get out?

And most importantly…

WHO THE HELL DO WE ASK WHAT TIME THEY'RE ON TILL?

The really funny thing is that the Ojai even has an AI assistant powered by Google's Gemini, capable of helping passengers with things like cabin controls and questions during the journey.

So technically, you might actually be able to ask it.

Imagine that.

"WHAT TIME YOU ON TILL?"

"I'm an autonomous vehicle operating according to my assigned service schedule."

"Right. Been busy tonight?"

The verdictThe Future Has Arrived, and It Doesn't Want a Tip for Making Conversation

There's something wonderfully ridiculous about the whole experience.

We're living in a world where technology that once belonged in science-fiction films is now casually collecting people from the side of the road.

And I'm absolutely here for it.

The Waymo Ojai is a fascinating bit of engineering. Electric, packed with technology, purpose-built for passengers and genuinely unlike anything you'd expect to see pulling up outside a hotel.

But for all its clever cameras, lasers, radar and artificial intelligence, there's still one thing it hasn't mastered.

A proper conversation with a Yorkshireman in the back seat.

And that's the real challenge for the next generation.

Forget autonomous navigation. Forget artificial intelligence.

Teach it to say, "Been busy tonight, pal?" and we'll really be getting somewhere.

Until then, I'll leave you with one final thought.

Only in Orlando can you spend all day at Disney meeting talking mice, then get in a taxi driven by absolutely nobody.

And somehow the taxi's still got more sense than half the drivers on I-4! 😂

Travelling the world one beer — and apparently one robot taxi — at a time.