Summary - Uber Technologies, Verne and Pony.ai launched a self-driving rides service in Zagreb on Wednesday, making the Croatian capital the first city in Europe where customers can summon a robotaxi through the Uber app.
The service is available in targeted parts of Zagreb, with coverage that includes the city center. Company statements indicate that service availability and the geographic footprint will broaden over time, though no specific timeline for expansion was provided.
During the early deployment phase a licensed operator will be present in each vehicle to monitor operations. The presence of that operator is part of the companies' approach while they continue development and validation on the path to fully autonomous driving.
Technologically, the autonomous driving system is supplied by Pony.ai, the Chinese robotaxi developer. Verne, a Croatian startup, will function as the fleet owner and manage service operations on the ground. Uber's role is to integrate the robotaxi service into its existing ride-hailing platform so riders can request trips through the familiar app interface.
This commercial launch advances the collaboration the three companies announced in March. The partners said they intend to roll the service out to additional European cities after the initial phase in Zagreb, without specifying which markets or a timetable.
Context and commercial roles - Pony.ai is providing the underlying autonomous driving technology. Verne will own and operate the vehicles in Zagreb. Uber is linking that capability to its app to enable bookings by its user base in the city.
Operational safeguards - The deployment begins with human oversight inside the vehicles as the teams work toward removing that requirement in future stages of the program.
Forward plan - The companies state that geographic coverage will expand over time and that the partnership intends to scale the service to other European cities, though the announcement does not include firm dates or detailed expansion milestones.