The BVG, Berlin’s local public transport association, has announced that it will launch self-driving buses in the city by 2027.

Self-driving buses coming to Berlin

Fully operational self-driving buses will hit the streets of Berlin by 2027, the BVG has announced. While there are a small number of test projects which already use automated buses in Berlin, the transport association announced that it would begin large-scale trials come 2025.

The first BVG automated bus trials began in 2018. These included a self-driving shuttle running between buildings at the Charité campus and a self-driving shuttle for pilots working at the former Tegel Airport.

Berlin's plans to launch automated buses for the general public are inspired by a similar project in Hamburg, where T20 automated buses will hit the city centre in 2025.

BVG chair Henrik Falk said that a transition to automated transport wouldn’t only help to cushion the blow of Germany’s worker shortage, but is key in the transition to sustainable urban mobility which offers the same convenience as owning a car.

BeIntelli already running daily automated buses in Berlin

BeIntelli, an automated transport research project which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure, has been running automated vehicle tests along one of Berlin’s busiest traffic routes, from Adenauerplatz to Brandenburger Tor and back round to Großer Stern.

The 22-kilometre route hosts around 60.000 cars, buses, vans and lorries per day, creating complex traffic challenges for BeIntelli’s automated vehicles. The organisation will soon allow the automated vehicles to take passengers along the test route.

Thumb image credit: Mickis-Fotowelt / Shutterstock.com