Zagreb begins invited passenger rides in Europe’s first fully driverless robotaxis
Now Possible · Friday, 11 September 2026
Why it matters
This is a real-world deployment milestone for autonomous mobility: a robotaxi capability previously demonstrated commercially in China is now carrying passengers driverlessly on European public roads. For ordinary riders, however, accessibility is still at the demonstration stage—rides are invitation-only and limited to a 22-kilometer route under a testing regime.
What happened
Pony.ai and Verne have begun carrying invited passengers without an onboard safety operator on public roads in Zagreb, using a 22-kilometer route connecting Verne’s headquarters, a business district and Franjo Tuđman Airport. The rides operate under Croatian approvals for autonomous-vehicle testing, with plans to expand the driverless area across Zagreb; the service has already logged more than 200,000 kilometers and several thousand customer rides, but the fully driverless phase is still a limited test rather than general public availability.
Previously
Apr 2026 — Verne launched a commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb using Pony.ai-equipped vehicles.(Pony AI via PR Newswire)
Players & places
- Croatia
- Zagreb
- Pony.ai
- Verne
- Uber