Our Position on Autonomous Vehicles in London | Ride Nuff

Technology should improve London - not leave Londoners behind

Autonomous vehicles are coming to London, and they could become an important part of the way people move around our city.

At Ride Nuff, we are not against technology or innovation. We are a technology company ourselves, and we believe new technology can make transport safer, cleaner and more efficient.

But progress should not mean forgetting the people who helped build the industry in the first place.

For years, London's private hire and taxi drivers have kept this city moving. They worked through nights, weekends, bad weather and the pandemic. They take people to airports, get workers home after late shifts and provide a service to communities across London every day.

Now the industry is entering perhaps its biggest period of change yet.

Our concern is not simply that autonomous vehicles exist. It is how they are introduced, who benefits from them, and what happens to the thousands of professional drivers whose livelihoods could eventually be affected.

Drivers deserve a voice in what comes next

Too often, major changes in the Private Hire industry happen around drivers rather than with them.

We don't believe that is the right way forward.

Autonomous vehicles should be introduced carefully, transparently and with proper consultation involving drivers, passengers, regulators and London communities.

The people currently working in the industry deserve a seat at the table.

London also needs to think seriously about where the economic value created by its transport system ultimately goes. Local drivers are already struggling with falling pay and the rising cost of living, with many working long hours simply to put food on the table. At the same time, overseas companies continue to take money out of our country, driven by profit and greed rather than a commitment to the communities and workers who make their businesses possible.

For years, drivers and passengers have helped build enormous ride-hailing businesses. As technology develops further, we believe there is an opportunity to build a different model, one where more of that value stays with the people and communities creating it.

That is one of the reasons Ride Nuff exists.

A London platform built differently

Ride Nuff was founded by London private hire drivers who experienced the industry from behind the wheel.

We are building a driver-centred alternative where drivers can have a genuine stake and voice in the platform they help grow.

We believe London should have strong home-grown transport technology alongside international operators.

We believe passengers should have choice.

We believe drivers should be treated as an important part of the transport ecosystem, not simply as a cost waiting to be automated away.

And we believe technology and fairness can exist together.

The future of transport will change. We accept that.

But the question London should be asking isn't simply "Can we automate it?"

It should also be:

"What kind of transport industry do we want to build, and who gets to share in its future?"

Ride Nuff wants to make sure London's drivers are part of that answer.