Standfirst: Uber, Croatian mobility company Verne and Chinese autonomous-driving developer Pony.ai have begun limited fully driverless trips in Zagreb. The partnership says the Croatian capital is the first European city where passengers can use a robotaxi without a safety operator behind the wheel, while expansion plans include Manchester and potentially Brussels.
Driverless robotaxis have moved from controlled demonstrations to limited public service in Zagreb, marking a significant development in Europe’s cautious autonomous-vehicle market. The service is being operated by Verne through Uber’s platform, with Pony.ai supplying the artificial-intelligence driving system.
The first fully driverless journeys began on 10 September for invited users travelling along a 22-kilometre route between Verne’s headquarters and Zagreb’s Franjo Tuđman Airport. The service remains geographically restricted and is not the same as unrestricted self-driving on every road.
How the Zagreb robotaxi service works
Passengers can request a robotaxi through Uber in much the same way as a conventional UberX or Comfort journey. Depending on availability, users can choose between a human-driven vehicle and an autonomous ride.
In earlier stages of the Zagreb programme, a human safety operator occupied the driver’s seat and supervised each trip. The latest phase removes that operator from the vehicle, allowing passengers to travel alone in the car while retaining access to Uber support.
The fleet currently uses the BAIC Arcfox Alpha T5, an electric Chinese SUV. The front passenger seat has been removed to create additional room for luggage. Around 30 autonomous vehicles operate in Zagreb, returning to a central maintenance and charging facility known as a “mothership”.
Although the vehicles are fully driverless on the approved route, the programme is classified as Level 4 automation. That means the vehicle can perform the entire driving task within a defined operational area and under specified conditions. Level 5 automation, which would allow unrestricted operation on all roads and in all conditions, is not currently in commercial use anywhere.
Why Zagreb matters for autonomous driving in Europe
The Zagreb launch is notable because it brings together three companies from different parts of the global technology and mobility sector:
- Uber provides the booking platform, customer interface and mobility network.
- Verne owns and operates the local fleet, manages service delivery and leads engagement with regulators.
- Pony.ai supplies the autonomous-driving technology and virtual-driver system.
Verne was co-founded by Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac and has been developing autonomous mobility services since 2019. The company sees Zagreb as an operational base from which it can expand to other European cities.
The partnership is also significant because Europe has generally taken a more cautious approach to autonomous vehicles than the United States and China. National approval systems, differing road rules and varying interpretations of vehicle-safety requirements can make it difficult to launch one uniform service across the European Union.
Technology behind the driverless vehicles
Pony.ai’s Gen-7 autonomous-driving system controls the Zagreb vehicles. According to the companies, each vehicle uses 34 sensors to interpret the road environment and identify other road users, signs and hazards.
The equipment includes:
- nine LiDAR sensors;
- 14 cameras;
- four millimetre-wave radars;
- four microphones;
- water sensors; and
- a collision sensor.
The system is trained first in virtual environments before being tested on public roads. Pony.ai describes the process as a form of virtual driving school, allowing the artificial driver to encounter simulated traffic situations before operating a vehicle in the real world.
Early rides have shown that the technology follows a deliberately cautious driving style. Vehicles stop fully at stop signs, even when an intersection appears empty, and may pull over when confronted by an aggressive overtaking manoeuvre. These behaviours can make the journey feel less fluid than a ride with an experienced human driver, but they are part of the safety-learning process.
Expansion plans include Manchester and Brussels
The companies say the Zagreb fleet has already covered 200,000 kilometres on local roads. Uber’s next announced location for the partnership is Manchester, where testing is under way and a service model similar to Zagreb’s is expected in the coming months.
Uber is also considering autonomous mobility projects in more than 30 European cities. Locations at different stages of discussion or testing include London, Madrid, Munich and Zurich. Brussels has also been identified as a possible future city, although no launch date has been confirmed.
A Brussels service would require further discussions with the relevant authorities and compliance with the applicable Belgian and regional rules. The existence of talks does not mean that a commercial robotaxi service has been approved there.
Regulation remains the biggest obstacle
The technical demonstration in Zagreb does not create a Europe-wide legal framework for driverless cars. Approval remains dependent on national and, where relevant, regional authorities. Operators must address questions involving vehicle certification, liability, insurance, data protection, cybersecurity, road safety and emergency intervention.
That regulatory patchwork is likely to shape the speed of expansion. A vehicle authorised to operate on a specific Zagreb route cannot automatically be deployed in another EU member state without additional checks and permissions.
For passengers, the immediate impact is limited to the approved service area and invited-user programme. For transport authorities, the project offers a real-world test of how autonomous vehicles interact with urban traffic, airport routes and conventional road users.
What happens next?
The Zagreb programme will continue gathering operational experience while the companies prepare for expansion. Manchester is expected to be the next major test of whether the partnership can adapt its model to a different city, road network and regulatory environment.
The longer-term ambition is to offer autonomous rides through a familiar ride-hailing platform rather than as a separate transport system. However, the next phase will depend on safety evidence, regulatory approval and public acceptance in each location.
For now, Zagreb represents a limited but important step in European autonomous mobility. The service demonstrates that fully driverless trips can operate in a controlled urban environment, while also showing that widespread deployment will require more than advanced sensors and artificial intelligence.
Conclusion
The Zagreb robotaxi service is one of the clearest signs yet that fully driverless commercial transport is beginning to move into European streets. Uber, Verne and Pony.ai have created a limited Level 4 operation, but expansion to Manchester, Brussels and other cities will depend on local authorisation and safety assessment. The key takeaway from this EU news development is that autonomous taxis are arriving gradually: city by city, route by route and under closely defined rules.
