Pony.ai and Verne have started fully driverless robotaxi test rides carrying passengers on public roads in Zagreb, Croatia, in what the two companies describe as a European first.
Invited passengers can now take robotaxi rides without an onboard safety operator along a 22-kilometre route linking Verne’s headquarters with one of Zagreb’s main business districts and Franjo Tuđman Airport Zagreb. The companies plan to expand the fully driverless routes over the coming months, with the aim of eventually covering the whole of Verne’s operating area in the city.
Shifting from commercial operations with an onboard autonomous-vehicle operator to fully driverless testing marks a change in how the service is run. Pony.ai says it demonstrates the company’s ability to bring technology and operating experience from its fully driverless commercial services in China into a European deployment, supported by Verne’s operational readiness and work to meet local regulatory requirements.