Mobility app Freenow by Lyft has announced plans to introduce autonomous taxis in Hamburg in cooperation with local taxi companies, marking the city’s third major initiative involving self-driving passenger transport.
The project has the backing of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, which has signed a letter of intent with Freenow by Lyft. Unlike U.S.-based robotaxi operators such as Waymo or Uber, the company said it does not intend to run autonomous vehicles as a standalone ride-hailing service. Instead, the self-driving taxis would operate within Hamburg’s regulated taxi system and be integrated with public transport services.
“Autonomous taxis can make a significant contribution to improving public transport connections – particularly during off-peak hours and in areas that have been underserved until now,” said Anjes Tjarks, Hamburg’s senator for transport and mobility transition. He added that the city was pursuing a long-term strategy that combines autonomous mobility with on-demand and taxi services embedded in the wider transport network.
Both Hamburg officials and Freenow by Lyft stressed that human drivers would remain central to the system. The partners said autonomous vehicles were intended to complement, not replace, existing services, while also creating new roles in fleet operations, maintenance and system oversight.
No timeline has been set for the start of testing or commercial operations. Freenow by Lyft said it would first select technology partners in the coming months, including providers of SAE Level 4 autonomous driving systems and vehicle manufacturers. A pilot phase is planned for the districts of Altona-West, Hamburg-Nord and Bergedorf, areas on the city’s outskirts with lower traffic density than the city centre. The service is expected to be connected to major public transport hubs.
“Together with the city, we are creating a clear framework for the first time to transition autonomous taxis from test operations to regular service,” said Thomas Zimmermann, chief executive of Freenow by Lyft. “Our goal is to combine innovation with responsibility and actively involve the local taxi industry from the outset.”
Hamburg was chosen in part because Freenow traces its origins to MyTaxi, founded in the city in 2009. MyTaxi was acquired by Daimler in 2014 and later merged into Freenow, the joint mobility brand of BMW and Daimler, before being acquired by Lyft last year.
Lyft has separately announced plans to deploy robotaxis in Europe using vehicles from Apollo Go, operated by Baidu, starting this year in Germany and the UK. It has not confirmed whether those vehicles would be used in Hamburg.
Hamburg is increasingly positioning itself as a testing ground for autonomous transport. Other projects include the ALIKE initiative led by Hamburger Hochbahn, Moia, Holon and Volkswagen, as well as the Ahoi project involving VHH, IAV and eVersum, both focused on autonomous electric shuttle services.