How do robotaxi companies pick a city?

When robotaxi companies explain why they chose a city, they give the same few reasons: rules they can count on, enough people who will pay for rides, and partners who can run a fleet there. Conditions on the road matter too, and so does a reason they mention less: somewhere for the cars to charge, be cleaned and wait.

Rules they can count on

A robotaxi company spends a year or more in a city before it takes paying riders,¹² so it looks for rules that are written down and unlikely to change. When Waymo announced Munich, Germany's transport ministry said the company had "recognised Germany's potential as a location offering legal certainty", pointing to the Level 4 law already in place.² WeRide gave Switzerland's regulation as a reason for Zurich, calling it "one of Europe's most advanced regulatory environments for autonomous driving".³

Smaller markets can move faster, says Frank McCleary of the consultancy Arthur D. Little, through "coordinated regulation, government support and more manageable operating domains".⁴ How each country's rules work is in Robotaxi rules in Europe.

Enough riders

A fleet pays for itself only if its cars are busy. WeRide described Zurich as "a global business centre and premium mobility market".³ McCleary names market size and demand among the factors that set markets apart, and points to Madrid and Barcelona's "strong demand from both residents and tourists".⁴

A partner to run the fleet

Many robotaxi services in Europe are built by three companies, not one: one supplies the self-driving system, a ride-hailing app sells the rides, and a local operator runs the cars day to day.

• In Zurich, WeRide supplies the driving, rides are sold in the Uber app, and the local operator Rydera manages the fleet; WeRide calls this its "asset-light" strategy, with partners investing in the fleet.³
• In London, Waymo works with Moove as its fleet operations partner.¹
• In Germany, Munich's largest taxi company, MTZ, plans to run up to 500 Tensor cars under its own brand.⁵

A city with a capable local fleet operator is easier to enter. Every company in Europe and its partners are listed in Robotaxi companies in Europe.

Roads, weather and taxis

McCleary points to Madrid and Barcelona's "relatively favorable weather" and "less challenging driving conditions than some northern European markets". The existing taxi trade counts as well: in Germany, he says, "incumbent taxi and labor dynamics could make commercial rollout more challenging".⁴

Room for the fleet

A robotaxi spends part of every day not carrying anyone. It has to charge, be cleaned and wait between rides, close enough to where the next ride starts. The announcements for Munich and Zurich say nothing about where the cars will be kept.²³ Where no place has been planned, cars drive around empty or wait in lots their neighbours never agreed to, as San Francisco and Santa Monica found out.

That is the part cities can prepare for before any company arrives: staging areas set aside for robotaxis, with rules on who may use them and when. It is what Lanoo is built for.

Sources

1. Waymo, Waymo in London. ↩ ↩²

2. Waymo, Waymo in Munich, 25 August 2026, quoting Christian Hirte, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. WeRide, WeRide and Uber plan to launch commercial robotaxi service in Zurich, June 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. Robotics & Automation News, Interview with Arthur D. Little consultant: Europe emerging as battleground for global robotaxi race, 26 October 2026. ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. The Next Web, Munich's biggest taxi firm plans up to 500 Tensor robotaxis in Germany, October 2026. ↩