Uber Technologies has launched autonomous vehicle rides in Zagreb, Croatia, becoming the first European city where riders can book an autonomous vehicle through the Uber app.
The service is powered by Pony AI’s autonomous driving technology and operated by Verne, a European autonomous mobility company, under a partnership announced in March.
Riders in key areas of Zagreb, including the city centre, can request the autonomous vehicles through UberX or Comfort. At launch, however, a licensed operator will remain behind the wheel to monitor the vehicle.
The companies said fully driverless operations would be introduced in a future phase, subject to the necessary requirements and approvals.
Under the partnership, Pony AI provides the autonomous driving technology, while Verne owns and operates the vehicle fleet. Uber provides the ride-hailing platform through which customers access the service.
Verne launched what it described as Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service in Zagreb in April and said it had completed thousands of autonomous rides since then.
Annie Duvnjak, Global Head of Autonomous Mobility Operations at Uber, described Zagreb as an important first step in the company’s plans to expand autonomous vehicle services across Europe.
“Zagreb is an important first step as we work to bring AVs to millions of riders and build the world’s largest platform for AV deployment,” she said.
The companies plan to use the Zagreb operation as a model for expanding autonomous ride-hailing services to other European cities. Further details on additional markets are expected later this year.
The launch marks a significant step in Uber’s strategy to integrate autonomous vehicles into its global ride-hailing network, while giving European riders access to the technology through an established transport platform.
