Uber has begun offering autonomous rides in Europe for the first time, in the Croatian capital, Zagreb. From Wednesday, riders there can book a self-driving car through the Uber app, the company said. The service is run with the Chinese firm Pony.ai and the European operator Verne.
There is a caveat. The cars are not yet driverless. A licensed safety operator sits behind the wheel to monitor each ride, the companies said. That is part of a phased rollout meant to reach fully driverless operation later. For now, the service covers key areas of Zagreb, including the city centre, with wider coverage promised over time.
The launch splits the work three ways. Pony.ai supplies the autonomous-driving technology, its Gen-7 robotaxi system. Verne owns the fleet and runs the service on the ground. Uber puts the rides in its app and handles the rider experience. It builds on a partnership the three announced in March, moving it from testing to a live service.
Zagreb is the first market under the deal. The companies said they plan to scale it to other European cities, with the next locations named later this year. The city already had a head start. Verne launched what it calls Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service there in April. It says it has since completed thousands of rides, running every day.
