Robotaxis: Fahrerlose Taxis in München: Waymo kündigt Start für 2027 an

In the Bavarian capital city of Munich, passengers will soon be able to board vehicles without human drivers. Google's subsidiary, Waymo, plans to launch a regular driverless taxi service for the public in the city by the end of 2027. The company announced this in a blog post. Munich will be the first city within the European Union to host this service.

Preliminary tests are set to begin in the coming weeks, with the vehicles already expected to patrol Munich's streets. During this trial phase, the cars will map the road network and be controlled initially by trained personnel at the wheel to adapt the driving system to the city's specific traffic conditions. Waymo is collaborating with the German Federal Motor Transport Authority and relevant regional and municipal authorities to secure the necessary legal permits for the eventual driverless operation.

Germany established the groundwork for everyday driverless road travel in 2021 through appropriate legal regulations. Waymo cites extensive experience from the United States, where the ride-sharing service is currently active in eleven major metropolitan areas and cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, San Antonio, and San Francisco Bay.

The vehicles have reportedly covered over 350 million kilometers without human intervention in the US, and have completed more than 20 million paid rides. According to Waymo, the system is significantly safer on the roads than human drivers - the company reports, based on its own surveys, a fraction of the accidents involving serious injuries and pedestrians or cyclists.