Uber begins autonomous rides in Zagreb with Verne and Pony.ai

Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) said it has started offering autonomous rides on the Uber app in Zagreb, Croatia, a move it framed as the next step in bringing driverless technology into everyday transportation in Europe.

In its announcement dated August 19, 2026, Uber said the service launch in Zagreb involves two partners, Verne and Pony AI Inc.. trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker PONY and on the HKEX as 2026, according to the same release.

The company did not provide additional operational details in the available post beyond the launch location and the fact that rides are now accessible through Uber’s app. It also did not specify the scope of availability, including whether the service is limited to designated corridors, time windows, or a pilot fleet size.

Autonomous ride-hailing has been a high-stakes test for the industry because it depends on a chain of capabilities, including mapping, sensor perception, fleet operations, and safety monitoring. By placing the service inside a consumer booking application, Uber is also betting that riders will accept autonomous vehicles as part of mainstream mobility rather than as a standalone pilot experience.

For partners, the announcement indicates real-world deployment and integration work. Verne and ’s involvement points to a model in which specialized autonomy providers collaborate with platform operators that control the customer interface, demand routing, and ride operations.

In the broader Autos and Transport sector, Uber’s expansion into a second European city underscores competition among mobility platforms and autonomy vendors. The market focus has increasingly shifted from demos to repeatable service operations, including how quickly deployments can scale and how reliability is managed under varying urban conditions.

A key caveat is that the announcement, as provided in the available material, does not disclose performance metrics or safety outcomes, such as disengagement rates, operational reliability targets, or incident reporting standards. It also does not state whether Uber will expand beyond Zagreb or how long the initial rollout is expected to run.

Investors and customers will likely watch for follow-on disclosures that clarify how the service is staged, whether Uber adds additional areas within Zagreb, and whether Uber and its partners publish results from the operational pilot, including rider demand, system uptime, and practical limitations that emerge once autonomous rides move from controlled trials to public use.