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Consumers open to using driverless taxis, despite concerns – The Harris Poll

Four in 10 adults (40%) said they would be likely to consider using a fully driverless taxi in a city or large urban area.

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White autonomous taxi vehicle with Waymo branding parked on urban street outside brick building with ivy.
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Research from The Harris Poll UK, A Stagwell Company, revealed a gap between consumers’ willingness to use driverless taxis and their concerns with the technology.

The study, conducted among 1,000 adults, found that while interest in fully driverless taxis exists – particularly in urban environments – concerns around safety, trust, and the loss of human presence remain widespread.

Four in 10 adults (40%) said they would be likely to consider using a fully driverless taxi in a city or large urban area, compared with 35% who said the same in smaller towns or rural areas.

18% of urban respondents said they would be very likely to use a driverless taxi, falling to 13% in non-urban areas.

49% believed driverless taxis would be less safe, while 28% thought they would be slightly safer than human-driven taxis.

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Overall, 70% expressed safety concerns, with 44% specifically citing fears around cybersecurity and hacking.

Consumers also raised questions about accidents and liability, with 69% wanting access to human assistance and 59% uncertain about who would be responsible in an incident.

81% of respondents said a human driver is important when using taxis.

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37% cited reduced awkward or unwanted interactions with drivers as a positive, and 32% associated driverless taxis with fewer human errors and more consistent driving.

Meanwhile, 50% expected lower fares, with 43% expecting the “out-of-hours” charges for early-morning and late-night travel to no longer apply.

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In addition, 22% recognised increased mobility for people who are unable to drive themselves.

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The Autonomous Acceptance Gap (AAG) measures the difference between what consumers said they would do and how emotionally comfortable they feel with autonomous systems.

Within this, The Harris Poll identified three UK consumer segments, these being ‘pragmatic adopters’, ‘aligned attitudes’, and ‘autonomy sceptics’.

Pragmatic adopters were found to be under 45s, and were more likely to be male – skewed towards urban usage.

Consumers idenitified as aligned attitudes were mostly between 35 to 54, with an even gender distribution.

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Finally, autonomy sceptics consisted of mostly over 55 years old, and were more likely to be female.

Sarah Beams, managing director at The Harris Poll UK, said: “Our Autonomous Acceptance Gap shows that many consumers are willing to try autonomous taxis before they fully trust them.

“At first glance, you might assume that driverless taxis will either take off or fail based on technological readiness.

“But the real battleground for adoption lies in emotional readiness. Focusing solely on functionality and efficiency won’t be enough.

“Messaging must address emotional barriers, especially around safety, trust and access to human support.”

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