Vay embarks on maiden voyage in Hamburg

The Berlin start-up Vay has brought Europe's first driverless car on public roads into traffic in the Hanseatic city, with telefahrer:innen in the background. This was made possible by an exemption granted by the Hamburg Authority for Transport and Mobility Change (BVM) in December 2022 - initially for a predefined test area in Hamburg-Bergedorf. Behind this novelty is the tele-driving service Vay, whose e-cars have already been on the roads of Berlin and Hamburg for three years; up to now, however, only with safety driver:in. The vehicles are controlled from a tele-driving station of the company. If a booking is made via the app, Vay's teledrivers drive the vehicle to the specified location. The customers themselves then drive to their destination; once there, a teledriver takes over again. The search for a parking space, which is often so tedious in urban areas, is thus eliminated. In the long term, Vay wants to offer a comfortable alternative to the car that is oriented towards the usual car-sharing prices. Integration into the Hamburg public transport system (HVV) is also planned.