The public can now book and pay for autonomous rides powered by Pony.ai through the Verne app. The service will soon also be available via the Uber app, following a recently announced strategic partnership between the three companies.
The commercial service is the result of years of development and close collaboration with regulators, positioning Verne among the leaders in autonomous mobility in Europe.
"For the first time in Europe, there is a true commercial robotaxi service. People can use and experience real autonomous driving. We said we would launch in Zagreb in 2026, and today we have done just that. This is only the beginning," said Marko Pejkoviฤ, co-founder and CEO of Verne.
The initial commercial deployment will use electric vehicles equipped with Pony.ai's seventh-generation autonomous driving system. These vehicles will operate autonomously, with trained autonomous vehicle (AV) operators present in the vehicle during the early deployment phase.
The initial service zone covers key districts of Croatia's capital, with plans to expand coverage to the entire city.
The companies aim to transition to fully driverless operations as soon as possible, pending regulatory approvals and meeting the necessary safety and service reliability standards.
Beyond Zagreb, Verne has begun licensing discussions with 11 cities across the EU, the UK, and the Middle East, with over 30 additional cities currently under consideration.
Verne will also eventually begin using the company's own autonomous vehicle, a two-seater robotaxi specifically designed for driverless transportation.