Britain proposes taxing self-driving cars to soften job losses
British think tank Centre for British Progress has called on the UK government to introduce a tax on self-driving cars now. The report’s authors believe this could soften future job losses among taxi and private-hire drivers, as well as curb the growth of congestion.
As The Guardian reports, the first robotaxis appeared on London’s streets this month. According to government forecasts, by the middle of the next decade, up to 40% of cars sold could have autonomous driving functions.
Risks for drivers and transport
Centre for British Progress said that the widespread adoption of autonomous cars could put hundreds of thousands of jobs in the private-hire transport sector at risk. England has around 417,000 taxi and private-hire drivers, including 121,000 in London.
The report also warns that private ownership of self-driving cars could increase car use at the expense of public transport. According to the authors, nearly half of Waymo robotaxis’ mileage in California is travelled without passengers: the costs of an empty driverless vehicle are minimal, and driving around a city could potentially be cheaper than parking.
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A UK Department for Transport forecast projects that highly automated driving will increase total road mileage by 24% by 2050, significantly affecting congestion and traffic speeds.
Tax proposal
The think tank proposes introducing charges before autonomous cars become widespread. According to its calculations, by 2050, a levy set at the social cost of congestion — around 88 pence per mile — could generate £47 billion annually.
Report author David Lawrence noted that the UK introduced fuel tax in 1909, before cars became widespread. It currently brings around £27 billion a year to the budget, but these revenues are forecast to disappear as the transition to electric vehicles progresses.
Wayve, a company developing autonomous driving technologies, criticised the idea of a separate tax for the industry. The company said that such a move at an early stage of market development could harm British innovators. The GMB trade union, which represents taxi and private-hire drivers, in turn believes that a tax alone would not be enough and has called for a plan to retrain and employ drivers.
