Boris Johnson today threw down the gauntlet to the rail unions as he insisted that driverless trains should be a condition of any future Transport for London bailout.
In May TfL was handed a £1.6 billion rescue package after revenues collapsed following the coronavirus lockdown, but the funding will run out in September.
On a visit to a site in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, where Siemens will open a rail manufacturing facility in 2022, the Prime Minister told reporters: “You can run these trains without the need for somebody to be sitting in the driver’s cab the whole time.
“So what I will be saying to the London transport authority is let’s take advantage of this technological leap forward, let’s not be the prisoners of the unions any more, let’s go to driverless trains, and let’s make that a condition of the funding settlement for Transport for London this autumn.
“That’s the way forward for this country and we want to make use of the fantastic technology we’ve got and provide a better service for people in the capital and take the whole economy forward.”
Rail union bosses have long baulked at the prospect of driverless trains, claiming that the technology would lead to safety risks and job losses.
Finn Brennan, organiser on London Underground for train drivers' union Aslef, said that "as always, Boris Johnson is talking nonsense about driverless trains".
"Slashing Government funding to TfL means that they cannot afford the signalling upgrade and other technology that would be needed for driverless trains," he said.
"While pretending to support a 'great leap forward', the Prime Minister's policies are actually preventing any progress with transport in the capital.
"They mean that Londoners will suffer years of delays and overcrowding in the future."
London Underground workers have some of the strongest unions in the country. In recent years, concerns over driver pay, job losses and working conditions have led to a number of crippling strikes across the capital's transport network.
During his time as Mayor of London from 2008 to 2016, Mr Johnson was involved in a series of bitter disputes with trade unions in relation to London Underground services.
In 2011, he claimed that “virtually anybody” could drive a Tube train as he gave his support for more automation, adding: “I hope the unions will recognise that the patience of Londoners is not endless.”
There are currently no driverless trains on the Tube network.
Mick Lynch, senior assistant general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, said: “It is outrageous for Boris Johnson to wheel out the dangerous nonsense of driverless trains as a condition of the emergency Covid-19 funding of Transport for London.
“This is the sort of cheap political stunt that was a hallmark of his time as mayor and we would have hoped he would have grown up by now.
“Transport services don’t need this kind of political grandstanding to the Tory right – they need security of funding, services and jobs.
“The Prime Minister needs to cut out this sort of garbage and get a grip of the serious challenges facing the transport sector as the lockdown eases.”
In May TfL published the seven-page letter from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps which outlined the conditions of the bailout, which included a £1.095 billion grant and a £505 million loan.
As part of the deal Mayor Sadiq Khan was forced to temporarily axe free bus and Tube travel for under-18s. People over 60 also lost their right to free bus and Tube travel before 9am. The congestion charge has also been widened and extended.
The Mayor has since slammed the bailout conditions and the ongoing row means the changes are unlikely to be implemented until the new term starts in September.
At the time City Hall sources accused the Government of punishing Londoners for obeying lockdown rules.
London Councils, which represents the 33 boroughs, has said that the deal “imposes a significant new burden on London local authorities in terms of school travel statutory obligations”.
About 30 per cent of London schoolchildren are legally entitled to free travel, because of special needs, poverty or the distance they live from school.
A Mayor of London spokesperson said: “TfL’s heroic frontline workers have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to keep our city moving, and are now focused on getting services back to pre-Covid levels.
“London is one of the only major cites in Western Europe without a Government grant for day-to-day transport operations.
"This outdated model simply does not work in this new reality - ministers urgently need to agree a new funding model with either permanent funding from central Government or giving London more control over key taxes so we can pay for it ourselves, or a combination of both.”