Assembly Member urges Mayor of London to widen AI taskforce remit to include robo-taxi risk to cabbies jobs
- Perry Richardson
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Assembly Member Elly Baker has called on the Mayor of London to broaden the scope of his newly announced Artificial Intelligence Taskforce to examine the full employment impact of automation, including the potential disruption posed by autonomous vehicles to the capital’s taxi and private hire workforce.
In a letter dated 10 February to Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, Baker welcomed the creation of the AI Taskforce but pressed for its remit to go further. She highlighted that more than 100,000 Londoners are employed in the taxi and private hire sector and warned that driverless vehicle technology could present a substantial risk to those roles.
Baker wrote that while artificial intelligence is expected to reshape the labour market in the years ahead, it is “only one of several technological developments already affecting jobs”. She pointed specifically to autonomous vehicles as an example of automation that could directly affect livelihoods across the capital’s licensed transport workforce.
The London Assembly Member said workers need clarity about how technological change could affect their future employment prospects. She urged the Mayor to ensure that the AI Taskforce examines the wider employment impacts of automation, including autonomous vehicles, or alternatively to establish a parallel forum or working group to assess the risks and develop a safeguarding plan.
London Assembly Member warns more than 100,000 taxi and private hire jobs could be exposed to autonomous vehicle disruption
The discussion places the taxi and private hire sector firmly within the broader debate about the future of work in London. The capital’s licensed taxi drivers and private hire vehicle operators form a significant part of the city’s transport ecosystem, providing regulated passenger services that supports night-time economy activity and first and last mile connectivity.
For drivers, the prospect of autonomous vehicle deployment raises many questions. Any shift towards driverless fleets would have implications for licensing frameworks, insurance models, vehicle standards and labour structures. While large-scale commercial deployment of fully autonomous ride-hail in London has not yet been approved, pilot schemes and trials in other global cities have intensified discussion about long-term market disruption.
Baker’s letter signals growing political scrutiny of how City Hall intends to manage technological transition. By linking automation explicitly to employment risk in the taxi and private hire trade, the Assembly Member has introduced a workforce protection dimension to what had been framed primarily as an AI innovation initiative.
With more than 100,000 individuals reliant on the trade for income, any policy shift on automation will carry significant operational and economic consequences across one of the capital’s largest regulated transport workforces.
Elly Baker AM, Labour’s Transport Spokesperson on the London Assembly said: “AI is already having a profound impact on our lives, so I welcome the Mayor’s announcement of a new taskforce to look at its impacts.
“We must also consider major technological developments shaping the labour market, so it is vital that the taskforce considers the impact of automation so we can protect the jobs we have, as well as create new ones.
“With the imminent introduction of driverless vehicles in London I want to ensure the livelihoods of the thousands of taxi and private hire vehicle drivers who serve our city are protected.”
