Thousands of autonomous shuttles will soon be operating in Hamburg

By 2030, up to 10,000 autonomous shuttles are expected to roll on the streets of Hamburg. The federal government is supporting the project with 26 million euros. The backgrounds.

Hamburg is planning a big step in the mobility transition: up to 10,000 autonomous shuttles will be on the streets of the Hanseatic city by 2030. The Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport is funding the project with 26 million euros.

Autonomous shuttles can be booked via app

Hamburg and the Ministry of Transport see the “ALIKE” project as a mobility solution that complements the classic public transport of buses and trains with a new product. In this way, Germans should be encouraged to give up their cars.

Instead, in the future they should be able to book autonomous shuttles via app and have them picked up directly from their front door. “The system meets strict security requirements and should also be scalable across regions and therefore also usable in rural areas,” says the official statement.

To implement the concept, the Hamburger Hochbahn, the on-demand service Moia, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the vehicle manufacturers Holon and Volkswagen joined forces. The Hamburg Authority for Transport and Mobility Transition (BVM) also supports the project.

Passengers should be able to use shuttles from 2025

“ALIKE” will go into operation with two models of autonomous, fully electric shuttles. One of them comes from the Bentler subsidiary Holon and offers space for 15 passengers. Volkswagen is also producing an autonomous version of the ID. Buzz AD available.

This will not only create a new alternative to buses and trains. “The aim of the model project is also to research the acceptance of autonomous driving offers in practice,” says the announcement. Among other things, extensive information offerings and surveys are planned. The results should also be incorporated into the modeling in order to evaluate the effects of the autonomous offer based on various scenarios.

Overall, the project is scheduled to last three years and is divided into three main phases: After detailed project planning and software development, the vehicles are to be linked to the operating software. Approvals for vehicles and the operating area would also be obtained. The autonomous ridepooling service is scheduled to start in 2025. Then the first passengers should be able to ride on the shuttles.

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