{"id":35204,"date":"2026-05-08T06:47:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/35204\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T06:47:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:47:19","slug":"europes-first-robotaxi-service-is-underway-in-croatia-at-2-33-a-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/35204\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s First Robotaxi Service Is Underway in Croatia at $2.33 a Ride"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"bloomberg\">Europe\u2019s first commercial robotaxi service has started in Croatia, with customers able to book rides for a fraction of the cost of a regular taxi.<\/p>\n<p>Local startup Verne operates a fleet of 10 electric vehicles in Zagreb, the country\u2019s capital. The cars\u2014Arcfox Alpha T5 models by Chinese manufacturer BAIC Motor Corp.\u2014are equipped with autonomous-driving software from China\u2019s Pony AI Inc.<\/p>\n<p>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.claimsjournal.com\/news\/national\/2026\/04\/15\/336918.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Altman-Backed Startup Raises $170 Million for Robocar Networks<\/a><\/p>\n<p>To get going, Verne is offering rides for a flat fee of \u20ac1.99 ($2.33) within its service zone. That covers about 35 square miles including Croatia\u2019s main international airport. Customers can book using Verne\u2019s app and, starting in a few months, also via Uber Technologies Inc.\u2019s ride-hailing platform.<\/p>\n<p>Europe has been lagging behind the U.S. and China when it comes to deploying robotaxis at scale. Alphabet Inc.\u2019s Waymo, which has the widest network in the U.S., plans to start up in London this year. Verne is backed by Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, who has been making electric supercars near Zagreb and also controls the Bugatti brand.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.claimsjournal.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Inside-a-Verne-robotaxi_Bloomberg-scaled.jpg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-337425\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Inside-a-Verne-robotaxi_Bloomberg-580x387.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"580\" height=\"387\"  \/><\/a>An onboard operator with hands on his lap as a Verne autonomous electric robotaxi drives itself. Photographer: Petar Santini\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n<p>For now, Verne\u2019s robotaxis still have a safety operator on board to comply with local regulations. But the ride itself happens autonomously. When this reporter tested the service, the SUV overtook slow-moving cars and smoothly swerved around a manhole on the road.<\/p>\n<p>Verne bets on Zagreb\u2019s challenging driving environment\u2014a 930-year-old city with narrow, cobblestone streets\u2014to provide valuable data and nudge customers toward its service.<\/p>\n<p>About 300 people have access to the Verne app, while another 4,000 are on a waiting list \u201cthat keeps growing,\u201d Chief Executive Officer Marko Pejkovic said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>Top photo: A Verne robotaxi waits as pedestrians cross outside Zagreb Main Station in Zagreb, Croatia, on May 5. Photographer: Petar Santini\/Bloomberg.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.<\/p>\n<p>Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<p>\n            Yes<br \/>\n            No\n        <\/p>\n<p class=\"thank-you-text\">Here are more articles you may enjoy.<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/subscribe-background-580x250.jpg\" alt=\"newsletter\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        Want to stay up to date?<\/p>\n<p>Get the latest insurance news<br \/>sent straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s first commercial robotaxi service has started in Croatia, with customers able to book rides for a fraction&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[21636,7128,4,7630,21848],"class_list":["post-35204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-europe","tag-auto","tag-autonomous-vehicle","tag-europe","tag-robotaxi","tag-self-driving-car"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}