MAN and MVG move Munich autonomous bus into public trials

MAN Truck & Bus will start carrying test passengers on an autonomous bus along Munich’s route 178 from 17 November 2026, moving the MINGA project out of technical testing. Over 2,000 people have registered to ride the 12-metre Lion’s City 12 E, running on weekdays until June 2027.

Riders form a closed user group on MVG’s service, and safety drivers stay aboard throughout. Automated with technology partner Adastec, the electric bus uses five LiDAR sensors, six radars, eight cameras and satellite positioning.

With around 30 seats and a wheelchair space, the bus is sized for mainstream city routes, where driver shortages bite hardest. Technical University of Munich and University of Stuttgart researchers will survey riders’ sense of safety in the 16-partner project, which has around €13m (US$15.2m) in federal funding.

“With the first test rides, passengers can now experience our technology in everyday use,” Dr Frederik Zohm, Executive Board Member for Research and Development at MAN Truck & Bus, said. “This is a decisive step.

“Alongside safe and reliable technology, autonomous vehicles also need people’s trust, and that is what we want to earn. The experience we gain from the MINGA project will feed directly into the development of future vehicle generations and further applications. As a German commercial vehicle manufacturer, we are glad to be developing this technology in Europe for Europe, and to be carrying out the project with such a professional consortium.”

Why this matters:

• Full-size buses change the case. Automating a 12m bus targets the high-capacity scheduled services that small autonomous shuttles cannot replace, giving operators a more direct answer to driver shortages.
• Savings await driverless operation. With safety drivers aboard throughout, the project cannot yet test the labour savings behind the business case, which will depend on how many vehicles a remote supervisor can oversee once drivers are removed.
• Munich tests two autonomy models. Public autonomous buses alongside Waymo’s planned robotaxi service would make Munich an early test of whether driverless technology strengthens public transport or competes with it.