As autonomous vehicles (AVs) are introduced in Singapore, concerns are rising over the future of flexible employment opportunities for workers who rely on driving and delivery jobs as fallback options. In 2025, Singapore had more than 71,000 platform workers, with nearly 57,000 engaged as private-hire and taxi drivers. These roles have long provided accessible and adaptable income sources, especially for individuals between jobs, older workers, caregivers, or those seeking supplementary earnings.

With the planned gradual rollout of AVs—including the recent announcement by driverless ride-hailing operator Waymo to begin trials and deployment in Singapore—there is an anticipated decline in demand for human drivers. This transition raises important questions about how displaced workers can maintain flexible employment and income streams that current driving roles offer.

Driving and delivery jobs have typically required low entry barriers, minimal retraining, and the ability to work flexible hours. Such attributes have made them vital in cushioning workers against rapid economic shifts and meeting the needs of those with family or caregiving responsibilities. About 58,000 platform workers in 2025 qualified for Workfare Income Supplement, highlighting the significance of these roles for lower-wage employees. However, experts caution that simply delaying AV adoption to preserve these jobs is inefficient, and that retraining all displaced drivers for traditional full-time roles may not meet their need for flexibility.

Instead, workforce development efforts are focusing on creating new fallback job opportunities with similar characteristics—low barriers to entry, flexible hours, readily available tasks, and potential for skill acquisition and career progression. One sector identified as particularly promising is community care, which faces rising demand as Singapore moves toward a super-aged society.

Proposals have been put forward to establish community caregiving corps that train individuals to provide neighborly care services such as companionship, medical appointment assistance, meal support, exercise activities, respite care, and welfare checks for seniors living alone. While professional healthcare workers remain indispensable for some tasks, modularising care jobs and creating a pool of trained, trusted caregivers could facilitate flexible, part-time work within communities.

The current freelance personal care workforce in Singapore remains limited, with fewer than a thousand workers reported in 2024 and no evidence of an online matching platform for such jobs. Addressing this gap, along with designing systems that balance continuity and flexibility—for example, by matching seniors with a small set of familiar caregivers—could enhance quality and trust while expanding flexible employment opportunities.

Beyond care, there is also scope to develop a broader contingent workforce to meet multiple labour market needs. Given demographic changes and policies like enhanced childcare leave, flexible workers may be needed to cover employees’ temporary absences, support peak workloads, or fulfil project-based roles across various sectors. Potential roles include administrative support, customer service, education assistance, healthcare support, events management, logistics, and selected public service functions.

For these contingent roles to succeed, they must offer viable earnings, respect worker autonomy in scheduling, and maintain fair employment protections such as contributions to social security and injury compensation. Furthermore, structured training programmes can provide stackable qualifications, allowing workers to progress to higher-skilled and better-paid positions.

Building such flexible employment alternatives now, while AV deployment is still in its early stages, will help affected workers pre-empt displacement by upskilling and preparing for new opportunities. This approach aims not only to replace income lost through automation but to improve access to flexible, meaningful work in a changing economy.

As AVs promise safer, more efficient transport services, Singapore must simultaneously ensure that the broader workforce is supported through proactive labour market adaptations that reflect technological and demographic shifts.