When self-driving vehicles become the norm, what will professional drivers do?
With the roll-out of autonomous vehicles, taxi and private-hire drivers may need to retrain for completely different jobs. How can they do this?
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What happens when one has to retrain for a completely different job from scratch? Three factors are needed, says the writer.
PHOTO: ST FILE
During one of my commutes last week, a private hire driver shared with me that she had been driving professionally for over 30 years, initially for taxi companies and later on her own as a platform worker. With her years of experience, driving is the only occupation she has known.
There are others like her. About 57,000 people worked regularly as taxi or private hire drivers in 2025. Their jobs could be at risk with the roll-out of autonomous vehicles in the coming years.
