Demonstrators have called for trials of driverless taxis in London to be stopped, raising concerns about safety, congestion and the impact on jobs. Around 15 people protested outside the offices of autonomous vehicle company Wayve in King’s Cross, which is trialling vehicles in the capital with human safety operators on board, according to the BBC.

Abdurzak Hadi, a private hire driver and member of the App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU), said he was “worried that I’ll be forced to compete with a machine that can work 24 hours”.

Wayve said it was taking a phased approach to developing the technology with Uber and working with Transport for London (TfL) to ensure future services were introduced responsibly.

Waymo is also trialling the technology on London’s roads.

Hadi called on TfL to suspend licences for driverless vehicles until there was greater clarity about how the technology would be introduced.

He said drivers had not been properly informed about the trials, adding: “No message was sent to the wider drivers to inform them of the situation; what is TfL’s stance in this position? What’s going to happen?”

Priyanka Khurana, from campaign group Fare Free London, said driverless taxis would increase traffic and take jobs away from drivers.

“By adding more cars, you’re first of all taking away the jobs of the taxi drivers,” she said.

“Instead of having more buses, you’re having more cars on the road and that’s what we don’t want.”

(Picture: Wayve)