In 2020, Bahnen der Stadt Monheim (located between Cologne and Düsseldorf) launched an interesting pilot project: on route “A 01”, running from the bus station (at the town hall) to the Rhine meadows via the picturesque old town, five autonomous minibuses built by the French manufacturer EasyMile, model “EZ 10” (fleet numbers 72 to 76), were put into service. No, they were not entirely on their own – for safety reasons, an “operator” was always on board, occasionally having to intervene. And yet – the author was able to observe on several rides that it worked. UTM reported in detail at the time:
During summer 2024, manufacturer EasyMile announced that it would withdraw from the production of autonomous minibuses – shifting its focus instead to manufacturing autonomous transport vehicles.
Now EasyMile has informed Bahnen der Stadt Monheim that it will cease support for the five vehicles in Monheim. As a result, Bahnen der Stadt Monheim (BSM) had been forced to suspend operations on route “A 01” as of 28 September 2025.
BSM emphasise that they have had good experiences with the autonomous shuttles. Route “A 01” had become an essential part of Monheim’s route network. In addition, there are streets in the old town that cannot be accessed by larger vehicles at all.
BSM are therefore describing the situation as a suspension of operations on route “A 01”. They are now seeking another manufacturer of autonomous shuttles willing to take part in the Monheim project with its vehicles. Surely that ought not to be a problem …
