Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Zurich to test automated public transport service

Canton of Zurich and SBB want to test automated public transport in the countryside
Canton of Zurich and SBB want to test automated public transport in the countryside Keystone-SDA

The canton of Zurich and Swiss Federal Railways want to test self-driving public transport in rural areas from spring 2025.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The automated cars are to be added to the range of public transport services. They have chosen Zurich’s Furttal valley as the pilot region.

Swiss Railways and the canton of Zurich are convinced that automated services offer great opportunities, particularly in public transport, the canton announced on Thursday. These could potentially be operated cost-effectively and flexibly and further improve services, particularly in rural areas and conurbations.

No human at the wheel

They chose the Furttal valley in the Zurich Unterland as the pilot region. It is ideally suited to the project due to its settlement structure, size and existing public transport network with a central S-Bahn line.

The test phase is scheduled to begin in spring 2025. The cars will drive in regular road traffic without a person at the wheel. They will be controlled by software.

More

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

OECD raises growth forecast for Swiss economy slightly

More

OECD raises growth forecast for Swiss economy

This content was published on The Swiss economy is growing slightly faster than expected, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Read more: OECD raises growth forecast for Swiss economy
The National Council cuts funding for Swiss aid abroad

More

Swiss parliament cuts foreign aid budget

This content was published on The House of Representatives on Wednesday cut the foreign aid budget by CHF250 million ($282 million) in favour of the army.

Read more: Swiss parliament cuts foreign aid budget
Farmers' movement emphasizes demands with protest in Bern

More

Swiss farmers protest over prices and bureaucracy

This content was published on Around 1,000 Swiss farmers took part in a protest action near Bern on Tuesday, calling for less administrative work, more planning security and fairer prices.

Read more: Swiss farmers protest over prices and bureaucracy
Syrian opposition fighters stand on a seized Syrian army armoured vehicle on the outskirts of Hama, Syria, 3, December 2024.

More

Switzerland demands immediate halt to hostilities in Syria

This content was published on The Swiss foreign ministry has called for an immediate end to hostilities in Syria. International humanitarian law must be respected, it declared via the social media platform X on Tuesday.

Read more: Switzerland demands immediate halt to hostilities in Syria
Mixed results for Swiss Black Friday

More

Mixed results for Swiss Black Friday

This content was published on Swiss Black Friday revenues failed to live up to retail expectations. But sales throughout the week proved more successful.

Read more: Mixed results for Swiss Black Friday

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR