Germany expects robo buses in 2026
Vehicle licencing agency expects 10,000 autonomous local buses by 2030.
Berlin (dpa) – The German vehicle licencing agency expects to approve autonomous “robo buses” for local public transportation in Germany from 2026. The announcement came in an interview from Richard Damm, President of the Kraftfahrbundesamt, which is responsible for licencing vehicles in Germany. He expects autonomous shuttle buses to be transporting people in German cities by 2027 at the latest. Damm believes it is possible that Hamburg will be the first city in Europe to receive a licence to operate robo buses, and that there could be up to 10,000 autonomous shuttle buses on Germany’s roads by 2030. According to the agency, which is responsible for licencing the vehicles, driverless goods vehicles will also become common in the next five to ten years. Damm also chairs the committee for autonomous and networked vehicles for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).