Today, the project partners officially launched the NoWeL4 project in the presence of Federal Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder. The pilot project is intended to prepare for the subsequent ramp-up of Germany’s largest fleet of autonomous vehicles as part of the public transport system.
In NoWeL4, five vehicles will travel with passengers in a test area of around 15 square kilometers. It includes parts of Spandau, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Reinickendorf. The vehicles move freely within the defined area and serve around 80 bus stops and virtual stops as required. Unlike the previous projects in Berlin, the new vehicles are capable of driving at autonomy level 4. This level is the prerequisite for completely driverless operation. A person in the “driver’s seat” is only on board during the test drives for safety reasons, to monitor the processes and intervene in an emergency. The vehicles are also monitored remotely from a project control center.
The first vehicles will be on test runs – still without passengers – from the end of October 2025. The next milestone will follow in the first half of 2026: This is when the test journeys with passengers will start. During the pilot phase, the number of passengers is still limited to test groups. Interested parties can apply soon. The details will be published on the project website.
IKEM is providing legal research for the entire pilot project.
The project is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport as part of the “Autonomous and connected driving in public transport” funding guideline with a total of 9.5 million euros.
