
A Croatian company named Verne has launched what it claims is Europe’s first commercial robotaxi service, beginning a phased rollout in the city of Zagreb.
Backed by Uber and using technology from the self-driving firm Pony.ai, the service has been operating ten automated vehicles for a small group of customers since early April.
Despite similar services being available in China and the United States for years, multiple companies are still competing to bring autonomous taxi services to European roads.
While a human "operator" currently remains behind the wheel for safety, Verne aims to move to completely driverless trips by the end of the year.
During a recent test ride, the vehicle navigated chaotic traffic and complex intersections smoothly, only pausing when an oncoming car swerved into its lane.
At that moment, a calm automated voice told passengers: "Sorry, we had to brake," but the human operator never had to take control.
Filip Cindric, Verne’s head of operations, noted that most trips are finished "without any intervention" and reported that 90 per cent of users have given the service a four or five-star rating.
The service is currently limited to specific zones, including the city centre and the airport. Verne CEO Marko Pejkovic explained that "expansion is gradual, with each new zone introduced only after detailed validation and once the system is proven reliable in real-world conditions."
To attract interest and gather feedback, rides are currently priced at just 1.99 euros, helping to build a waiting list of around 4,000 people.
Verne is already in talks to expand to 11 other cities across the UK, Europe, and the Middle East.
Highlighting the achievement of launching in the Croatian capital first, Cindric remarked: "If it were that easy, it would already exist in London or some other major European city."
The company is now working toward final regulatory approvals to remove the human safety drivers entirely.

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