Switzerland’s first public robotaxi service takes to the road

Three electric robotaxis are now carrying passengers in Zurich’s Furttal valley, opening Switzerland’s first publicly available robotaxi service. The Iamo pilot links Boppelsen, Dänikon, Hüttikon and Otelfingen through a network of around 100 designated stops.

Passengers book through the Iamo app, whose name stands for “intelligent automated mobility”. After registering, they select a journey and wait at a designated stop. Each vehicle can carry up to three passengers and currently runs every day from 1pm to 5pm.

The launch gives residents a practical first look at automated transport in ordinary local traffic. The cars operate on public roads and serve real passengers, although they remain under human supervision. A safety driver sits behind the wheel and the front passenger seat remains empty.

Pascal Kern, head of Zurich’s Office for Mobility, says authorities want to introduce the technology gradually. That measured approach reflects Switzerland’s regulatory culture, where safety testing and formal approval precede wider deployment. The Furttal service therefore marks a controlled public trial, with a defined route, limited hours and a small fleet rather than a citywide rollout.

A 10-kilometre Iamo journey costs about CHF 8.50, according to the pilot’s published fare structure. The price combines a CHF 4.70 base fare with a charge of CHF 0.38 per kilometre.

That places the service well below the estimated CHF 44 cost of a conventional Zurich taxi over the same distance. The difference could make short connections to railway stations more accessible, especially for residents in villages where buses are infrequent or evening services are limited. The pilot does not yet promise a full replacement for existing public transport. Its operating window ends at 5pm, and its vehicles serve only selected stops.

Iamo remains outside Switzerland’s standard public transport fare system. Holders of a GA or Half-Fare travelcard cannot use those passes for the robotaxi. Passengers must pay through the app under the pilot’s separate pricing model.

The service’s low operating price offers Swiss transport planners a useful test case. They can observe whether residents will book shared autonomous rides, how often vehicles connect with trains, and whether the model works financially beyond a tightly defined trial. Those results will matter more than the headline fare when authorities assess expansion.

Furttal was chosen because autonomous transport could help where population density is lower, while its suburban railway line provides a direct link to Switzerland’s established public transport network. The four participating municipalities create a compact test area with both village roads and connections to rail services.

The project is designed to examine the “first and last mile” problem. A robotaxi could collect passengers at a local stop and take them to a railway station, reducing the need for a private car for the entire journey. It could also provide a flexible connection between scattered settlements that do not justify frequent conventional bus routes.

Swiss Transit Lab runs the project with the cantons of Zurich and Aargau and Swiss Federal Railways. Their partnership gives the pilot a wider transport focus than a standalone technology demonstration. Vehicle movements, bookings and links with existing services can be assessed within a regional network.

The limitations are clear. Iamo covers only four municipalities, operates for four hours a day and uses about 100 fixed stops. It is therefore testing a particular mobility pattern rather than offering door-to-door autonomy. The findings could still inform future services in rural and suburban parts of Switzerland, where transport demand is spread across smaller communities.

Human supervision remains built into every public Iamo trip. The cars travel in ordinary traffic, but a safety driver stays behind the wheel and the front passenger seat is kept empty. The arrangement allows the project team to monitor performance while passengers experience the technology in daily conditions.

The trial follows preparatory work that began in summer 2025, when organisers produced a detailed map of the operating area. In November 2025, Switzerland’s Federal Roads Office, Astra, authorised automated-driving tests. The subsequent testing period was largely uneventful, according to the project information supplied by Le News.

The next step would remove the safety driver from the vehicle. Organisers plan to introduce automated minibuses supervised remotely by trained staff. That change would require additional Astra approval, making the regulatory process a key factor in the project’s timetable.

Switzerland’s cautious pace stands out internationally. Companies in China and the United States already carry paying passengers in fully driverless taxis. Apollo Go and Waymo have expanded through large-scale testing, building operational experience across millions of rides and, in some cases, major urban networks. Iamo starts from a smaller and more closely supervised base, giving Swiss authorities room to assess safety and public acceptance before deciding how far to proceed.

Iamo gives Switzerland a live test of whether automated mobility can serve smaller communities. The first results will come from everyday details: whether passengers download the app, whether bookings cluster around railway departures, and whether three-seat vehicles can provide reliable service during the four-hour operating window.

The pilot’s structure also exposes the obstacles that a national rollout would face. A service must win approval from Astra, fit into existing transport networks and attract enough passengers to justify its operating costs. Fare integration remains unresolved, since GA and Half-Fare cards do not apply. Authorities will also need to consider accessibility, data handling, roadside infrastructure and the role of remote supervisors.

Zurich is starting with a limited fleet and a clearly mapped service area. That gives Swiss Transit Lab, the cantons and SBB a manageable setting in which to measure demand and identify problems before increasing capacity. The proposed automated minibuses would represent a substantial operational change, particularly if remote supervision replaces an onboard safety driver.

For residents of Boppelsen, Dänikon, Hüttikon and Otelfingen, the experiment begins with a simple proposition: open an app, reach a designated stop and share a short electric ride. The data gathered in Furttal will help determine whether that proposition belongs in more Swiss regions.