Switzerland’s first public robotaxi service begins in Zurich canton

Three electric robotaxis are now carrying passengers through Zurich’s Furttal valley. The Iamo pilot gives Switzerland its first publicly accessible self driving taxi service, opening a practical test of automated mobility in four smaller municipalities: Boppelsen, Dänikon, Hüttikon and Otelfingen.

Passengers book through the Iamo app, whose name stands for “intelligent automated mobility”. The service connects around 100 designated stops, allowing residents to request a ride rather than wait for a fixed route. Each vehicle carries up to three passengers and currently operates every day from 1pm to 5pm.

The launch matters because Furttal reflects a common Swiss transport challenge. Communities outside major urban centres often have rail access, but limited local connections for the first or last part of a journey. The pilot places robotaxis alongside a suburban railway line, giving Swiss Transit Lab, Zurich and Aargau authorities, and Swiss Federal Railways a live setting in which to examine how automated cars could feed passengers into conventional public transport.

Zurich’s Office for Mobility is taking a measured approach. Pascal Kern, its head, says the authorities want to introduce the technology gradually. The first passengers will therefore experience a controlled service, operating within a defined area and schedule.

Around 100 stops give the pilot a village scale and a transport network to test. Users must download Iamo from the Apple App Store or Google Play, register, select a journey and walk to a designated collection point. The app handles bookings while the vehicle follows its approved operating area.

The four municipalities offer different reasons to study automated transport outside a major city. Boppelsen, Dänikon, Hüttikon and Otelfingen are close enough to Zurich’s wider transport system to provide links with rail, yet dispersed enough to expose the gaps between stations, homes and local destinations. Those links could matter for older residents, people without cars and commuters travelling beyond the railway timetable.

The service remains deliberately limited. A three passenger capacity restricts the number of people each trip can carry, and the four hour daily window gives operators a narrow period for collecting data. Users also need to plan around fixed stops rather than request a vehicle from any address.

Iamo is a pilot, so Switzerland’s GA and Half Fare travelcards cannot be used. The service is also outside the regular public transport fare system. That separation allows operators to assess demand and operating costs before any decision about wider integration.

A 10 kilometre Iamo journey costs about CHF 8.50, compared with roughly CHF 44 in a conventional Zurich taxi. The pilot’s fare begins at CHF 4.70, followed by CHF 0.38 per kilometre, putting the service within reach of passengers who might find a standard taxi too expensive for routine local travel.

The pricing gives operators a way to test whether lower fares can generate demand in municipalities with fewer passengers per square kilometre. It also highlights a practical limit of the experiment. Iamo does not accept the Swiss GA or Half Fare travelcards, and passengers cannot use the ordinary public transport fare system. A customer may therefore pay separately for a robotaxi connection and a train journey.

That issue will become more important if automated services move beyond the pilot. A useful feeder service must fit into the way people already buy tickets, plan connections and transfer between modes. Swiss Federal Railways is part of the project, giving the organisers a direct partner for examining those connections.

For now, the financial proposition is clear at the individual trip level. The challenge is to establish whether the fare can support reliable service, vehicle maintenance, supervision and expansion once the pilot environment becomes more demanding.