MPs to hear ADCU concerns around mass private hire driver job losses triggered by autonomous ‘robo-taxi’ trials
- Perry Richardson
- Jun 17
- 2 min read
The App Drivers’ and Couriers Union (ADCU) will host its second Friends of ADCU Parliamentary Meeting in the House of Commons on 19 June. The event, chaired by Kate Osborne MP, will focus on gig economy working conditions and the growing influence of automation and algorithmic control on workers’ rights.
Taking place between 12.30pm and 1.30pm, the meeting invites MPs to hear updates on the challenges faced by private hire drivers. Attendees will be briefed on concerns around automation, including fears of large-scale job losses triggered by the introduction of driverless vehicles.
The meeting comes after the announcement of joint plans by Wayve and Uber to begin public road trials of Level 4 autonomous vehicles in London. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander welcomed the move, calling it a vote of confidence in the technology. The initiative marks the UK as the most extensive declared test area for self-driving vehicles.
Guest speakers at the ADCU event include Veena Debal, Associate Professor of Law at the University of California, who will offer insights into algorithmic pay systems and the opaque data tools used by gig platforms. Also in attendance is James Farrar, of the Worker Information Exchange, who will address the impact of automated decision-making on drivers’ rights.
Concerns are also growing over the proposed Data Use and Access Bill (DAUB). ADCU argues that the bill poses a major risk to gig workers, who lack formal employment status and must rely on data protection law to safeguard their rights. The union warns that if passed, the bill could weaken key protections against automated pay deductions and algorithmic dismissals.
Cristina-Georgiana Ionestscu, ADCU President, has raised fresh questions about transparency in platform algorithms. She asks why platforms like Bolt and Uber can guarantee pricing for customers, but claim not to be able to do the same for drivers.
Ionestsc said: “In relation to secret algorithms, our question to Bolt and Uber is, how come your algorithm can offer a guaranteed price to the customer but apparently can't do the same for the driver?"
She added: “Nowhere in the announcement by Wayve and Uber is there any mention of how the introduction of driverless vehicles is going to impact private hire drivers, who are staring down the barrel of a gun and facing mass job losses as a result of the rollout of Level 4 vehicles. Drivers working for the platform companies are refused worker status, year after year, meaning the likes of Uber, Bolt and Wayve can shrug off all responsibility towards ensuring a Just Transition for the more than quarter of a million PHV drivers currently employed in the gig economy.
“ADCU is demanding clarification within the Employment Rights Bill of worker status to safeguard our members, and an end to bogus and forced self employment, which is currently being used with impunity by the platform companies to deny our members access to sick and holiday pay, and redundancy rights that might offer them some protection once driverless cars appear on our streets, and they begin to lose their livelihoods.”
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