Malta's EU-Co-Funded Autonomous Shuttle Pilot — Testing Self-Driving Public Transport Under Horizon Europe

Malta's Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works, together with Malta Public Transport and the University of Malta, launched an autonomous electric shuttle pilot in 2026 as part of a wider €14 million "Malta in Motion" investment that also added 40 new electric buses to the national fleet — more than doubling its existing electric bus capacity.
The shuttle, carrying up to 15 passengers, is being tested for a minimum of six months on pre-approved routes across Malta and Gozo, with a trained safety operator on board at all times, able to take manual control. The pilot is co-financed through the EU's Horizon Europe metaCCAZE project, which is running comparable autonomous-shuttle trials in Tampere (Finland) and Amsterdam (Netherlands) — giving it a documented, coordinated cross-country replication structure rather than a one-off local trial.
As of mid-2026 the shuttle had not yet entered public service; reporting covers investment figures, safety protocol and the testing timeline, not ridership, incident data or comparative cost outcomes, which will only become available once the pilot phase concludes.

Read the full analysis: https://www.sustainable-bus.com/electric-bus/malta-40-electric-buses-autonomous-shuttle/