Tax self-driving cars now to protect jobs and ease congestion, thinktank says

Key points

• The UK's first robotaxis began operating on London streets in July 2025.
• UK government projections suggest up to 40% of new cars sold could be self-driving capable by the mid-2030s.
• A thinktank is calling for new taxes on self-driving vehicles to offset job losses and rising congestion.
• Hundreds of thousands of private hire workers could be at risk.

The robotaxis have only just arrived, and already a thinktank is warning the government it has fallen behind.

London's first self-driving taxis began running on public streets this month, July 2025. A research thinktank is now urging ministers to introduce taxes on autonomous vehicles before the industry grows large enough to cause serious economic harm. We reported on 3 September that Wayve's self-driving cars had joined the Uber app, with just 15 vehicles available across the city.

What is actually at risk here?

Hundreds of thousands of private hire jobs could disappear as self-driving cars spread. The thinktank's report warns that autonomous vehicles will also push up congestion, because a car that drives itself cheaply enough may stay on the road far longer than one a person needs to park.

Government projections cited in the report put the scale of the shift plainly: by the mid-2030s, up to four in every ten new cars sold in the UK could carry self-driving capability. The thinktank's argument, first reported by The Guardian AI, is that the decade that gives policymakers to prepare isn't as long as it sounds.

What would the tax actually do?

Money raised could fund retraining programmes for displaced drivers and investment in public transport. A charge tied to road use could also discourage the empty, circling journeys that critics expect autonomous fleets to generate.

This isn't about blocking the technology. It's about making the companies that profit from it contribute to managing the disruption it causes.

What does this mean for drivers and passengers today?

For now, the practical change is small. The service is limited in area and closely monitored. If you drive for a living, the pressure on your income isn't immediate. But the thinktank's point is that waiting until it is immediate is too late.

For passengers, self-driving taxis could eventually mean cheaper, always-available rides. The question is what happens to the drivers who currently provide them.

This is a pattern the tech industry has repeated before: deploy first, ask society to clean up later. Getting a tax framework in place before autonomous vehicles are everywhere is exactly the unglamorous policy work that tends to get skipped until there's a crisis.

Common questions

Are self-driving cars already on UK roads?

Yes. The first robotaxis began operating in London in July 2025, though the service remains limited in scope.

Who would pay a new tax on self-driving cars?

The report doesn't spell out precise mechanisms, but such taxes would most likely fall on companies operating autonomous fleets rather than ordinary car buyers.