What does it take to bring autonomous mobility into everyday public transport? During our metaCCAZE General Assembly in our Trailblazer City Tampere, Elli Papaioannou, Project Adviser at the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), took a closer look at one of the project’s key demonstrations: Tampere’s autonomous electric shuttle.
In a new video interview, she shares her impressions and reflects on the importance of testing innovative mobility solutions under real-world conditions.
Autonomous mobility becomes part of everyday transport
As part of metaCCAZE, Tampere and its partners have been developing and testing an automated 12-seat electric shuttle to explore how autonomous vehicles can complement existing public transport.
Since 24 June 2026, the shuttle has been operating as Nysse line 301 between Hervantajärvi and Lintuhyti, without a safety driver on board. Instead, the vehicle is monitored through a Remote Operations Centre.
This marks an important milestone: autonomous mobility is no longer being tested solely as a technological experiment, but as part of a real public transport service.
Seeing the demonstration in action
During her visit, Elli Papaioannou experienced the Tampere demonstration first-hand and learned more about the work behind the service.
The demonstration provides valuable insights beyond the vehicle itself. Integrating an autonomous shuttle into public transport requires consideration of remote supervision, passenger needs, safety and integration with existing services.
It also demonstrates how European research and innovation projects such as metaCCAZE can help cities move innovative mobility concepts closer to real-life deployment.
From Tampere to other European cities
As one of the four metaCCAZE Trailblazer Cities, Tampere provides a real-world testing environment from which other cities can learn.
Together with demonstrations in Amsterdam, Munich and Limassol, the experiences from Tampere will support metaCCAZE’s Follower Cities and other European cities in developing cleaner, smarter and more accessible mobility systems.
Tampere’s autonomous shuttle shows what this transition can look like in practice: bringing innovative technology out of the testing environment and onto the road as part of everyday public transport.
Watch the interview
Watch the video with Elli Papaioannou, Project Adviser at CINEA, to discover the autonomous shuttle demonstration in Tampere and see how metaCCAZE is helping advance the next generation of urban mobility. Find the video here.
