Verne launches robotaxi service in Zagreb, citizens are already booking rides

Verne launched today the first commercial robotaxi service in Europe, which begins in Zagreb.

Namely, starting today, citizens can book and pay for autonomous rides powered by Pony.ai technology through the Verna application. The service will soon be available through the application Uber, following the recently announced strategic partnership between three companies.

The commercial service is the result of several years of development and close cooperation with regulators, which positions Verne among the leaders of autonomous mobility in Europe, he states. Marko Pejkovic, co-founder and CEO of Verne and adds:

"For the first time in Europe, there is a real commercial robotaxi service. People can use it and ride in real autonomous rides. We said we would launch the service in Zagreb in 2026. Today we did it. This is just the beginning.”

According to a recent announcement Pejković on LinkedIn, the Verna robot taxi test ride over a distance of 17,4 kilometers, lasting 26 minutes, was 1,99 euros.

An amount that sounds like a promotion. And realistically, it is. At least initially, the robot taxi in Zagreb.

But let's not fool ourselves that this is about the final price of transportation. Because such a price has nothing to do with sustainability. Nor is that its goal. It serves to get people to try it, to change their habits, to get into the system...

We have seen this before, nor is it new in the business world when it comes to opening up markets and new services/products. That's how they started and Uber i Glovo... in Croatia and other markets. Prvo is simple, available and cheap, and then it gradually becomes a standard, a position is built on the market and the market price of the service stabilizes. We will see how much the robot taxi price per km will cost in the end. 

The most important thing is how The first commercial robotaxi service in Europe has launched, in Zagreb.

Start of service in Zagreb

The initial commercial deployment will use electric vehicles equipped with Pony.ai's seventh-generation autonomous driving system. According to Verne, the vehicles will operate autonomously, with trained autonomous vehicle (AV) operators present in the vehicle during the early phase of deployment.

The initial service area covers key parts of the Croatian capital, with plans to expand to the rest of the city. As we can see on the map above, the service is available from Franjo Tuđman Airport to the city center. As Verne points out, they hope to transition to fully autonomous, driverless operation as soon as possible, which depends on regulatory approvals and meeting the necessary safety and operational standards.

Next steps

In addition to Zagreb, Verne has initiated licensing discussions with 11 cities in the EU, the United Kingdom and the Middle East, while more than 30 additional cities are currently under consideration.

Verne will also introduce its own specially developed autonomous vehicle in the future, a two-seater robotaxi designed exclusively for autonomous transportation services.