Workers feel vulnerable over self-driving future

Seoul’s push to expand the use of autonomous buses and taxis is raising questions about the future of transport workers, with unionized drivers calling for stronger safeguards and a greater say in a transition that could eventually threaten their jobs.

While city officials say the technology will initially help address driver shortages rather than displace workers, union representatives want clear answers about their future job security, passenger safety and responsibility in the event of an accident.

“Self-driving technology should be limited to supporting human drivers, instead of replacing them,” a Seoul bus union official surnamed Yoo told The Korea Times recently. “Operating without humans is neither feasible nor desirable.”

He said drivers’ responsibilities extend beyond simply steering and braking to responding to passenger inquiries, preventing door-related injuries and handling unexpected incidents. He supported technology that can assist them with risks such as drowsy driving and blind spots, but questioned whether the policy direction of replacing human workers with machines was wise or necessary.

His concerns come as the Seoul Metropolitan Government is preparing to move self-driving buses beyond small-scale pilot programs and into regular city bus service.

Under a three-year agreement signed with the Seoul Bus Transport Association and Hyundai Motor, the city government aims to introduce 500 Level 4 autonomous city buses, which can handle all driving tasks without human intervention within set conditions, by 2030. Seoul currently has 16 autonomous buses in operation. If the target is met, the 500 buses would represent about 6.8 percent of the capital’s current bus fleet.

Many taxi drivers also feel increasingly vulnerable to the technology, which is evolving quickly with the development of artificial intelligence, said a labor-management director at the National Taxi Labor Union Federation surnamed Oh.

“We know we cannot stop it simply by opposing it,” Oh said.

He said drivers increasingly recognize that autonomous taxis could eventually threaten their jobs, although the limited trials in Seoul are not yet seen as directly affecting their earnings.

Their concerns are fueled by rapid self-driving developments in the United States and China, which make the prospect of a similar future in Korea seem increasingly real, he said.

Seoul currently operates 19 late-night autonomous taxis, mostly in the Gangnam area, and plans to gradually extend their service hours and expand their operating area.

Despite concerns, he said drivers have not yet strongly opposed the wider adoption of the technology. Part of the reason is that many are nearing retirement and do not see the prospect of displacement as an immediate threat, he added. The average age of taxi drivers in Seoul is 64.

“Many think they can work a few more years and then retire,” he said.

The labor union representatives said they do not intended to stand in the way of technological innovation. However, they stressed that better working conditions and measures to protect workers’ livelihoods should be part of the policymaking process, with workers given a meaningful say in decisions affecting their future.

City officials cautioned against interpreting the self-driving bus deployment target as an imminent move to eliminate human drivers.

Lee Su-jin, director of the city government’s future mobility division, said autonomous buses would first address service gaps caused by driver shortages.

“Seoul currently faces driver shortages that prevent it from deploying buses on some routes, including early-morning services. Our principle is to introduce autonomous buses into those service gaps first,” she said.

Lee said safety drivers and personnel to monitor the vehicles would remain necessary as the technology develops and its use expands, making immediate job losses unlikely.

“If workers need to take on different roles, we will need to work through that together,” she said.