# Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs

US SOC code 53-3053. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/53-3053

Also called: Shuttle driver, Chauffeur, Airport shuttle driver, Hotel shuttle driver, Limousine driver.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **248,530** US shuttle drivers and chauffeurs, with median pay of **$37,290** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [a Census count](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1933/dec/1930a-vol-05-occupations.html) of **206,000** from 1930, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for shuttle drivers and chauffeurs: Ride-hailing platforms, 2009 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 7.1% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=53-3053&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **17.3%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1905
- Latest US employment: 248,530 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $37,290 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Outlook: +7.1% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [15]

### All 8 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1930 | 206,000 | n/a | Decennial Census 1930 [1] |
| 1950 | n/a | $3,000 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [4] |
| 1970 | 240,000 | n/a | Census (IPUMS) 1970 [2] |
| 2021 | 175,660 | $30,000 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 201,070 | $32,800 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 204,930 | $35,240 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 229,630 | $36,670 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 248,530 | $37,290 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (44)

### Employment series

1. [US Census Bureau — 1930 Census, Volume 5: General Report on Occupations (chauffeurs and drivers for hire)](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1933/dec/1930a-vol-05-occupations.html), US Census Bureau
2. [IPUMS USA — Occupation and Industry Codes and Documentation (1970 Census taxi drivers and chauffeurs)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/occ_ind.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [University of Missouri Libraries — "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959" (BLS occupational wage data)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

6. [Encyclopaedia Britannica — History of the Automobile (early gasoline engines and vehicle development)](https://www.britannica.com/technology/automobile/History-of-the-automobile), Encyclopaedia Britannica
7. [Smithsonian National Museum of American History — America on the Move: early automobiles](https://americanhistory.si.edu/america-on-the-move/early-automobiles), Smithsonian Institution
8. [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Two-way radio and mobile dispatch communication](https://www.britannica.com/technology/radio), Encyclopaedia Britannica
9. [Encyclopaedia Britannica — GPS (Global Positioning System): civilian and commercial adoption](https://www.britannica.com/technology/GPS), Encyclopaedia Britannica
10. [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Uber Technologies, Inc. (founding and ride-hailing history)](https://www.britannica.com/money/Uber-Technologies-Inc), Encyclopaedia Britannica
11. [Samsara — Fleet Safety Report (AI dash-cam coaching outcomes)](https://www.samsara.com/resources/fleet-safety-report), Samsara
12. [Moovs — Using AI for chauffeured transportation (dispatch, dynamic pricing, booking automation)](https://www.moovsapp.com/post/using-ai-for-chauffeured-transportation-check-out-moovs), Moovs
13. [TechCrunch — Lyft to add autonomous shuttles in 2026 as Uber inks more self-driving deals (July 2025)](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/25/lyft-to-add-autonomous-shuttles-in-2026-as-uber-inks-more-self-driving-deals/), TechCrunch
14. [Waymo — Waymo One ride-hailing service overview (autonomous deployments across Phoenix, San Francisco, LA, and other cities)](https://waymo.com/waymo-one/), Waymo

### Forecasts and exposure studies

15. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 53-3053 Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs (2025: 251.5 thousand; 2035: 269.4 thousand; +7.1%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=53-3053&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
16. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 53-3053.00, human-rated β 0.173)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

17. [Encyclopaedia Britannica — History of the Automobile (early gasoline engines and vehicle development)](https://www.britannica.com/technology/automobile/History-of-the-automobile), Encyclopaedia Britannica
18. [US Census Bureau — 1930 Census, Volume 5: General Report on Occupations](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1933/dec/1930a-vol-05-occupations.html), US Census Bureau
19. [US Department of Transportation, FMCSA — Commercial Driver's License Program history](https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registration/commercial-drivers-license), FMCSA / US DOT
20. [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Uber Technologies, Inc. (founding and early history)](https://www.britannica.com/money/Uber-Technologies-Inc), Encyclopaedia Britannica
21. [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Assurance of Transportation (Medicaid NEMT benefit requirements and coverage)](https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/assurance-of-transportation), CMS / Medicaid.gov
22. [Bureau of Transportation Statistics — Effects of COVID-19 on US travel](https://www.bts.gov/covid-19), US Department of Transportation
23. [O\*NET 53-3053.00 — BLS OEWS May 2024 (current employment and outlook)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/53-3053.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Predecessors & successors

24. [Smithsonian National Museum of American History — America on the Move: from carriages to cars](https://americanhistory.si.edu/america-on-the-move/early-automobiles), Smithsonian Institution
25. [Encyclopaedia Britannica — History of the Automobile (early gasoline engines and vehicle development)](https://www.britannica.com/technology/automobile/History-of-the-automobile), Encyclopaedia Britannica
26. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Bus Drivers](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/bus-drivers.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
27. [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — Assurance of Transportation (Medicaid NEMT benefit requirements and coverage)](https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/assurance-of-transportation), CMS / Medicaid.gov

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs (53-3053.00): tasks, technology skills, 243,900 employed 2024](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/53-3053.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OOH — Taxi Drivers, Shuttle Drivers, and Chauffeurs (9% growth 2024-2034, ~58,800 annual openings)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/taxi-drivers-and-chauffeurs.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Samsara 2025 Safety Report — AI-enabled fleets reduce crash rates 73-75% over 30 months](https://www.samsara.com/resources/fleet-safety-report), accessed 2026-06-05
- [TechCrunch — Lyft to add autonomous shuttles in 2026 as Uber inks more self-driving deals (July 2025)](https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/25/lyft-to-add-autonomous-shuttles-in-2026-as-uber-inks-more-self-driving-deals/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [NEMT Entrepreneur — 2025 Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Industry Stats: AI scheduling cuts booking errors 45%](https://www.nemtrepreneur.com/blog/2025-non-emergency-medical-transportation-nemt-industry-stats-and-data-report), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Moovs — AI for chauffeured transportation: dynamic pricing, dispatch, booking automation](https://www.moovsapp.com/post/using-ai-for-chauffeured-transportation-check-out-moovs), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Ground Alliance — Limo booking and dispatch software guide 2025: 25% more rides per month with AI dispatch](https://www.groundalliance.com/limo-booking-and-dispatch-software-guide-2025/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Uber — Uber Autonomous Solutions: AV and human driver co-deployment on the Uber platform](https://investor.uber.com/news-events/news/press-release-details/2026/Uber-Unveils-Uber-Autonomous-Solutions-to-Accelerate-Autonomous-Mobility--Delivery-Worldwide/default.aspx), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.