BVG launches into the future with autonomous shuttles – opportunities and challenges

On 17 October 2025, Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) officially announced the launch of its largest pilot project to date for autonomous driving in local public transport. Under the project name NoWeL4 (Nord-Westraum Level 4), five fully electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz AD minibuses with highly automated (level 4) driving technology are to be deployed in north-west Berlin – in the districts of Spandau, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Reinickendorf.

The pilot phase will start with test and survey runs without passengers before passenger operations begin in the first half of 2026 (with safety drivers on board) and the test phase is scheduled to run until around 2027. The aim is then to ramp up to regular operation of autonomous vehicles in public transport. 

The project is being financed in part by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) with funding of around €9.5 million. Technological partners include the Technical University of Berlin (TUB) with its Centre for Technology and Society and the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM), together with mobility service provider MOIA (a VW subsidiary), which has been offering ride pooling in Hamburg since 2019 with a fleet of over 300 minibuses. Associated partners in the project are the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and Environment and the Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises.

A prerequisite for the ramp-up is series approval for fleet operation of Level 4 vehicles by the relevant authorities at federal and state level in Berlin. 

Sensor specifications: According to the information provided, the vehicles are equipped with approximately 13 cameras, 9 lidar sensors and 5 radar sensors.

Relevance for public transport

The BVG characterises the project as the ‘initial spark’ for a new mobility system that combines traditional local transport services with flexible autonomous vehicles. With a view to deployment in urban areas (approx. 15 km² test area) and planned scalability to five-digit vehicle numbers, the aim is to achieve long-term transformation.

From the perspective of the transport transition, the project offers potential for improving services in remote areas, supplementing existing bus routes and optimising services during periods of low demand. In addition, the technological platform can be used for digitalisation, on-demand mobility and data integration.

Critical perspectives & open questions

Despite the ambitious plans, experts and the press have expressed some reservations and uncertainties:

• Approval & regulations: To date, there is no series approval for level 4 autonomous vehicles on public roads in Germany. The BVG itself has set a target of obtaining approval by 2027. This requires considerable regulatory and administrative preparation.
• Staffing & labour market: While autonomous vehicles have the potential to reduce the workload of drivers, this raises the question of the future role of current front-line employees in public transport – including qualifications, retraining and employee security. A scientific analysis indicates that stakeholders have ambivalent attitudes: ‘CAVs may solve, but can also aggravate’ … 
• Accessibility and inclusion: The current pilot project explicitly states that the vehicles used are not yet accessible – the development of accessible solutions is a ‘declared goal’. However, there is a high demand for equal access, especially in public transport.
• Economic efficiency and scaling: The technology is expensive in the pilot stage and it remains to be seen how quickly it can be amortised in normal operation – especially in heterogeneous urban transport areas with a high degree of complexity.
• Transport system integration: Autonomous shuttles do not automatically solve bottlenecks in public transport – they must be integrated sensibly into existing services (bus, tram, underground). They can also cause new traffic and open space conflicts (e.g. when many small

Assessment and outlook

This is not the first time that BVG has ventured into autonomous driving. In recent years, several pilot projects with autonomous shuttles have been completed, primarily to test technology, acceptance and operating concepts:

• See-Meile project (2019–2020): In Berlin-Tegel, EasyMile EZ10 shuttles operated on a 1.2 km route between the Alt-Tegel underground station and the Greenwichpromenade. The aim was to integrate autonomous vehicles into public spaces.
• Shuttles & Co project (2020–2022): Expansion of the test field to larger residential areas in Reinickendorf with several EasyMile vehicles, supported by the Federal Ministry of Transport. Technical reliability, driving behaviour in mixed traffic and user acceptance were investigated.
• Kiezmobil project (2021–2022): In south-west Berlin (Zehlendorf), the BVG tested an on-demand service with autonomous minibuses in neighbourhood traffic.

Nevertheless, the BVG’s NoWeL4 project is an important and ambitious building block for future mobility in Berlin – it signals technological progress, a willingness to innovate and a possible way forward for autonomous public transport services. If the pilot phase proves successful, it could become a blueprint for cities in Germany and beyond.

It is no secret that Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich, among others, are collaborating in the field of autonomous driving. We reported on this here:

At the same time, the project should be critically monitored: it is not just about technology, but also about transport planning, user integration, urban development and the world of work. The decisive factor will be how well the autonomous solution is embedded in the overall structure of public transport – and how quickly the regulatory, economic and social challenges are addressed.

Ultimately, the NoWeL4 project could contribute to the ‘mobility of tomorrow’ – but its actual impact will depend on how consistently the accompanying framework conditions (legal, social, infrastructural) are created.

Technical and Project Overview – BVG NoWeL4