Autonomous mobility operator Verne, a Croatian company spun out of electric hypercar maker Rimac, announced that members of the public can now book and pay for driverless rides through its app.

The service uses technology from Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai and will soon also be available via the Uber platform following a previously announced partnership with the ride-hailing giant. Under the wider partnership, Verne acts as fleet owner and operator while Uber provides access through its platform and Pony.ai supplies the autonomous technology.

Verne’s current service zone covers key districts of Zagreb, with plans to expand coverage across the city.

The initial rollout uses electric vehicles equipped with Pony.ai’s seventh-generation autonomous driving system. While the vehicles operate autonomously, trained safety operators remain onboard during the early phase of deployment. The companies aim to transition to fully driverless operations, subject to regulatory approval and performance against safety and reliability standards.

The launch follows several years of development and collaboration with regulators and positions Zagreb ahead of other European cities pursuing similar deployments.

Outside of Croatia, Verne has begun permitting discussions with 11 cities across the EU, the UK and the Middle East, with more than 30 further cities under consideration. It intends eventually to deploy a purpose-built two-seat autonomous vehicle designed specifically for driverless ride-hailing.

According to zagdaily.com