WeRide will deploy a new Robobus autonomous shuttle service at Zürich Airport in partnership with Flughafen Zürich (Zürich Airport), and Swiss Transit Lab (STL). For WeRide, the partnership marks the latest in the development of its European operations, following a temporary autonomous shuttle service it offered at the 2024 French Open.
WeRide said that this new commercial deployment of the Robous, which accommodates nine passengers, represents the first autonomous bus shuttle project to be launched at a European airport. During its operations, set to begin in Q1 2025, the shuttle will serve airport employees along a dedicated route connecting the employee entrance at gate 101 to the maintenance area at gate 130. This initial phase at Zurich Airport includes a safety driver on board, with plans to transition to remote monitoring operations in the future. WeRide confirmed that it will work with STL to ensure the smooth operation of the service.
Zürich Airport, itself, is working with further airports in the European cities of Brussels and Amsterdam who are also testing autonomous vehicle technologies. Ahead of the service launch, WeRide’s autonomous taxi (Robotaxi) completed route mapping around Zürich Airport, demonstrating both its potential for, and future use in, applications further across Switzerland that will be revealed at a later date.
Located at the foot of the Alps, Zürich Airport poses several challenges to autonomous driving technologies: namely a complex operational environment and adverse climate conditions. WeRide highlighted that the capabilities and rich implementation experience of its technologies were able to overcome these challenges, providing a mature and reliable solution.
The launch of the new Zürich Airport service is not WeRide’s first in France, however. Here, it follows the company’s French Open deployment in the country, where Robobus provided efficient shuttle services on a five-kilometer route. The temporary service was part of an ongoing collaboration with Renault Group designed to promote low-carbon public transportation solutions.
