The GMB union has described plans by Uber to introduce driverless services for customers in London as “premature”, warning of potential social and economic disruption.
David McMullen, GMB Senior Organiser, said the rollout of driverless cars must be approached cautiously given the large number of people employed as professional drivers.
“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,” McMullen said.
He said the union had called on Transport for London (TfL) and the UK Government to take urgent responsibility for developing a plan to protect drivers and ensure operators are held accountable for the disruption that driverless services could cause.
“Until a plan is put in place to manage this transition and support drivers, it is premature to move to ‘driverless’ services,” he said.
McMullen stressed the need for authorities to assess the wider implications of the technology before its deployment.
“It’s vital that we consider the implications of this before it’s too late,” he added.
The comments come as Uber exits Nigeria after 12 years of operations, with the company announcing that it will wind down its Nigerian operations effective Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
Uber launched in Lagos in 2014, connecting users with independent transportation providers, but said its decision to leave followed a “thorough review” of its business operations.
The company apologised to Nigerian users for the disruption caused by its departure and said its Help Centre would remain available until September 23 to assist with final account-related enquiries.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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