Autonomous Driving In Switzerland – What Are We Talking About?

Autonomous driving: What are self-driving vehicles and what is – legally speaking – the definition of automated driving?

STARTING POINT: What is automated or autonomous driving?

Self-driving (automated) vehicles have been in use in Switzerland for longer than one might assume. As early as 2016, Swiss Post launched a pilot project with self-driving buses. From 2019 to 2021, anyone wanting to travel from the Matte to the Marzili district in Bern could use self-driving vehicles as part of a pilot project run by BERNMOBIL. Currently, SBB, the cantons of Zurich and Aargau, and the NGO Swiss Transit Lab (STL) are jointly implementing another pilot project in Zurich's Furttal district where passengers in Furttal can be picked up by automated vehicles and taken to the nearby S-Bahn station. While still in its test phase, the project aims to begin operational service in the first half of 2026.