“HAMBURG. Autonomous cars have already become a visible part of Hamburg’s streetscape—albeit on a limited scale. Volkswagen subsidiary Moia has deployed a small fleet of self-driving shuttles across several districts northeast of the Alster Lake; for now, these vehicles still carry safety drivers on board, as the technology has yet to reach full maturity. Now, the Hanseatic city is opening its doors to another project—this time in partnership with the company Freenow. The taxi-hailing service, headquartered in Hamburg, plans to deploy autonomous taxis in selected districts and has signed an agreement with the City Senate to this effect.
"A milestone—not just for Hamburg, but for all of Germany," Freenow CEO Thomas Zimmermann told the *F.A.Z.* newspaper. Hamburg’s Senator for Transport, Anjes Tjarks (Green Party), stated that the initiative would help further solidify the city’s pioneering role in the field.
Autonomous taxis represent one of the major future trends within the automotive industry. On a global stage, the technology is advancing at a rapid pace.
In Germany and Europe, however, progress has been much slower.
Manufacturers such as Mercedes and BMW are focusing primarily on driver-assistance systems for private consumers; fully autonomous fleets for on-demand services and shared urban mobility remain a secondary priority for them. The Volkswagen Group, for its part, had to overcome several setbacks with its own project before it finally began inching toward market readiness.
Freenow—formerly a joint venture between BMW and Mercedes, and now a subsidiary of the American ride-hailing service Lyft—aims to specifically target and serve the outlying districts of Hamburg.
Specifically, plans are in place to launch the service in the Altona-West, Hamburg-Nord, and Bergedorf (in the east) districts, CEO Zimmermann and Senator Tjarks announced during their interview. The project is designed to be closely integrated with the public transport network and to adhere to a specific rule regarding leverage the Passenger Transport Act, which already enables taxi companies today to serve poorly connected areas using specially discounted fares.
For instance, anyone living in northern Hamburg who wishes to cover the "last mile" from the S-Bahn station by taxi should only have to pay a few euros for the trip.
This fare model is scheduled to launch later this year using conventional taxis and drivers; concurrently, vehicles equipped with sensors and cameras will begin mapping the area in preparation for robotaxis. Starting next year, passengers should then be able to travel without a driver on board. Freenow CEO Zimmermann speaks of "several hundred" autonomous vehicles that are eventually to be integrated into the fleet and, at a later stage, operate in other parts of the city as well.
He views the agreement with Hamburg as the first model of its kind in Germany, in which "a city and a private company jointly establish a strategic framework for the introduction of Level 4 vehicles into taxi services and create clear rules for their integration." "Level 4" denotes a high level of automation, where vehicles are capable of operating without a driver. Volkswagen is also working on this concept through its subsidiary Moia—though not as an on-demand taxi service for individual customers, but rather as a shuttle service where multiple passengers share a ride.
For Lyft, the owner of Freenow, Hamburg represents one of two major projects currently underway in Europe. A parallel initiative is taking place in London, for which the American company has already named a technology partner: their British robotaxis are set to run on technology provided by the Chinese conglomerate Baidu—a company that holds a position in China similar to that of Google in the United States.
In Hamburg, Freenow has so far remained tight-lipped regarding its choice of technology—partly because the decision carries political sensitivity. While Chinese systems are generally regarded as high-performance, they are also viewed with a critical eye; data protection and IT security are cited as key concerns. For instance, technicians in Norway recently discovered a mechanism within Chinese electric buses that they classified as a "kill switch"—a system capable of remotely shutting down the vehicles. FreeNow CEO Zimmermann states that, in the coming months, the company will focus on selecting a technology partner. Transport Senator Tjarks is taking a very reserved stance, noting that any questions regarding this topic must be answered by the federal government—as it concerns an issue whose scope "extends significantly beyond that of a Hamburg transport authority."
The future of urban mobility is a subject occupying companies worldwide. The aim is for it to become cleaner, more efficient, and more affordable. This is creating numerous new business opportunities. FreeNow originally launched in Hamburg under the name "MyTaxi"; customers hail a taxi via a smartphone app, and the company then relays the booking to affiliated taxi dispatch centers or directly to drivers with whom FreeNow has signed a contract. Lyft in turn, originated in America and pursues a business model comparable to that of its widely known competitor, Uber. With the acquisition of Freenow last year, the Americans gained access to the taxi market across Europe.” [1]
1. Hamburg startet neues Robotaxi-Projekt: Hansestadt will Vorreiter für autonomes Fahren werden / Partnerschaft mit Freenow. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung; Frankfurt. 28 Jan 2026: 22.
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