Trade unions have raised concerns over the upcoming launch of driverless taxis in London.
Cab company Uber have teamed up with AI software organisation Wayve to launch a fleet of autonomous taxi services, which is available from today.
Following the announcement, trade union GMB have shared its fears regarding the loss of jobs due to the new venture.
David McMullen, Senior Organiser of GMB, said: “With hundreds of thousands of people employed to drive every day, we need to be really careful with the roll out of driverless cars unless we are prepared to see unprecedented levels of social and economic disruption.”
Customers who chose the option of UberX, Uber Electric or Uber Comfort can opt in to use the driverless service.
The GMB say that the launch of automated services is premature as there is no current plan to support drivers.
Mr McMullen added: “GMB has called on TfL and the Government to urgently take responsibility for developing a plan that protects drivers and holds operators accountable for the disruption that these services will ultimately cause.”
Currently all trips will be supervised by a professional in the driver’s seat, with a small number of cars to begin with but a view to expand as demand increases.
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