Tatarstan could become a testing ground for autonomous buses.

      The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation has included Tatarstan among the pilot regions for testing driverless buses. This was announced at a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on public transport development in Ulan-Ude with the participation of Vladimir Putin by the head of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Andrey Nikitin. "The implementation of driverless vehicles is underway. Autonomous trams are present in Moscow and St. Petersburg. A driverless train is being tested in the capital's metro. It is important to scale this experience to other types of transport and regions," said Nikitin. "We consider it important to extend the experimental legal regimes, including to buses. We propose to start 'pilots' in Moscow, the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Tatarstan, and the Far East. To successfully develop transport systems and replicate best practices, we are working on creating a competence center for public transport." Putin called for more active use of artificial intelligence capabilities for demand forecasting, optimizing schedules, and route networks. The head of state also stated that there are positive trends in public transport, but "there are still enough problems in this area," and due to the high burden on regional and municipal budgets, "the passenger transport sector remains one of the most vulnerable."

      Recall that in March of this year, Putin announced that driverless trucks would start operating on the M12 "East" highway today. The corridor for driverless freight transport will connect St. Petersburg and Kazan. Earlier, in 2025, the driverless truck Navio successfully completed the route from St. Petersburg to Kazan, covering a distance of 1,600 km in 24 hours. This is 2.5 times faster than a standard trip involving a human driver.

      More news about the event:

      Tatarstan may become a pilot region for testing driverless buses

      The Republic of Tatarstan may be among the pilot regions where the use of driverless buses will begin testing. 21:24 10.08.2026 IA Tatar-inform - Kazan

      Tatarstan may become a testing ground for driverless buses

      The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation has included Tatarstan among the pilot regions for testing driverless buses. 20:01 10.08.2026 Business Online - Kazan

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