Croatia launched Europe’s first robotaxi fleet with Chinese EVs. Human safety operators remain onboard, at least through the rollout. Low fares plus future Uber access could rapidly grow daily ridership. Europe has spent years watching America and China race ahead with autonomous cabs, but Croatia’s finally got the robotaxi party going in the EU. A startup called Verne, backed by Mate Rimac, has officially launched Europe’s first commercial autonomous taxi service, putting self-driving EVs onto the streets of Zagreb for customers who’ll pay practically nothing for the experience. To make a splash with this month’s launch, Verne’s charging a flat €1.99 ($2.22) per trip. That’s less than many people spend on the bottle of water they buy while waiting for an Uber. That fee covers Verne’s entire first-stage Zagreb operating zone, a 35 sq miles (91 sq km) area in parts of the Croatian capital plus the city’s international airport. More roads will be added later. Related: Musk Said 10 Billion Miles Would Crack ‘Safe Unsupervised’ FSD. Tesla Just Got There The company currently operates a fleet of 10 electric SUVs based on the Arcfox Alpha T5 from Chinese automaker BAIC, with the complicated autonomous bit handled by Pony.ai, one of China’s major self-driving technology firms. Customers can book rides through Verne’s own app, though Uber integration is also coming later, and that’s sure to make demand really take off. Only 300 people have access to the app right now, but several thousand are waiting to be verified. Before anyone starts imagining empty robot shuttles roaming medieval streets unsupervised, there’s still a catch. Each robotaxi currently carries a trained safety operator behind the wheel to satisfy local regulations during this early rollout phase. But Verne expects to ditch the human overseer by the end of the year. Smooth Though Traffic Even now, the driving itself is mostly autonomous. Reporters from AFP who tested the service described the cars navigating traffic confidently, overtaking slower vehicles, and handling unexpected obstacles without human intervention. One AFP ride reportedly included a sudden stop after another driver wandered into the wrong lane. The robotaxi calmly apologized through an electronic voice assistant afterwards, which is more consideration than you get from most human taxi drivers. Ambitious Expansion Plans The startup is supported by Mate Rimac, the Croatian entrepreneur better known for building outrageously fast electric hypercars and running Bugatti Rimac. But Verne’s ambitions are far bigger than simply testing autonomous cars in Mate’s home country. The company says discussions are already underway with 11 cities across Europe, the UK, and the Middle East. In total, more than 30 additional cities are reportedly being evaluated. Verne also plans to eventually replace these adapted Chinese SUVs with its own purpose-built, two-seat autonomous pod first shown a couple of years ago (see gallery below). Verne
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