Seven years ago, the first autonomous bus rolled into Bad Birnbach. As the first project of its kind in Germany, regular operations began here. The pilot test is attracting international attention. Visitors from all over the world – even from China and South Korea – were interested in the project. But now the buses will stop operating.
Manufacturer withdraws
The reason: The manufacturer EasyMile, which was responsible for the autonomous vehicles, has announced that it is withdrawing from passenger transport. In the future, the company will concentrate on logistics in the aviation and shipping sectors. Without the necessary support from EasyMile, safe operation of the vehicles is no longer possible, according to the Rottal-Inn district office on Friday. Therefore, the project partners have to stop operating the autonomous buses at the end of the year. It ends on December 31, 2024.
Financing problems and political hurdles
The project has always been an expensive affair since its inception. Various funding and operation by Deutsche Bahn covered the costs until June 2023. But there were problems here too: After the funding from the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport expired at the end of June 2023, the district, the Bad Birnbach market and RBO GmbH bore the costs until 2024. This support was limited to 2024, but there was no prospect of further funding. Operating the vehicles would cost the Rottal-Inn district and the Bad Birnbach market around 342,000 euros per year.
New funding program as a rescue?
The partners say that the project is by no means hopeless. The financing would have to be addressed again. That will take time, just because of the political situation in Berlin. First, a federal budget must be in place and a new funding program must be launched. There are hopes for new, additional funding projects from the Federal Ministry of Transport in the next few months.
The consequences for Bad Birnbach
The biggest loss for the residents and visitors of Bad Birnbach will probably be the loss of flexible on-demand traffic on line 7016 from January 2025. The well-known “Where You Want” app, with which trips could be booked flexibly, will then also no longer be available. The autonomous shuttles on this route are also a thing of the past – at least for the time being.
But the line service between the train station and the town (line 7015) will continue – but no longer with autonomous vehicles. The partners have agreed to maintain the line until March 31, 2025.
