London cabbies want Sadiq Khan to slam the brakes on robotaxis

London's minicab drivers want Mayor Sadiq Khan to put the brakes on robotaxis before they threaten thousands of jobs, with a new City Hall report casting doubt on whether the capital is ready for driverless cars.

The Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has called on Transport for London (TfL) to halt the rollout following the publication of a London Assembly Transport Committee report on Monday.

The 66-page report makes uncomfortable reading for the companies hoping to unleash fleets of driverless taxis on London's streets.

"As it stands, we currently have not heard sufficient evidence to persuade us that London should welcome autonomous passenger services," it concludes.

Google's Waymo, British startup Wayve, and Chinese tech giant Baidu are among those gearing up to bring autonomous passenger services to London.

Waymo has already been testing its cars in the capital and hopes to launch a commercial fleet of "low hundreds" this year, subject to regulatory approval.

Uber and Wayve have secured TfL private hire licenses for vehicles offering supervised self-driving rides, meaning a human driver remains legally in control, and Freenow and Baidu are targeting a fully driverless launch in 2027.

London has around 105,000 licensed private hire drivers, many of whom have reason to worry about cars that can do their jobs without them.

"Every car feeds a family, and the prospect of not being able to earn money leaves us all with a deep uncertainty as to how we will provide for them.

We already struggle to get by as it is," said Gholomreza "Rez" Kamyabi, an Uber driver and vice chair of the IWGB Private Hire Drivers union.

The committee heard warnings that robotaxis could put large numbers of drivers out of work, and wants TfL to work with unions and operators to retrain, redeploy, and fund those affected.

The IWGB, however, wants the rollout stopped.

"The IWGB Private Hire Drivers Union opposes the rollout of driverless cars," said union president Alex Marshall, warning the technology could put thousands out of work while benefiting tech companies and investors.

Jobs aren't the only concern.