“Redistributing the bikes is one of our biggest operational challenges.”
Markus Bacher, CEO of PubliBike, Switzerland’s largest bike-sharing system · Advisor to AutoBike
Vans chasing demand, all day long.
One-way trips leave some stations empty and others full. Crews drive vans to move bikes back, and operators keep extra bikes as a buffer. AutoBike makes that trip itself.
How often crews move each bike, per year — published figures
A bike fleet that tidies itself up.
On large grounds, bikes pile up where people leave them and are missing where they need them. AutoBike returns to its hub, or comes to where it’s needed, without anyone moving it by hand.
What your site gets
Mobility on demand
A bike is always close by, across the whole site, without anyone planning where they go.
Less shuttle traffic
Short trips between buildings move from shuttle buses and cars to bikes.
Saved time
People stop walking long distances or waiting for shuttles, and nobody spends hours collecting bikes.
Innovation you can show
Be among the first sites with self-driving bikes, a visible sign of innovation for staff and visitors.
Private grounds have defined routes and one owner who sets the rules, which makes them a natural first deployment. We’re looking for first sites to pilot with. Tell us about yours →
A normal e-bike, plus an autopilot.
Riders use it like any other share e-bike. After the ride, it drives itself at walking pace to where it’s needed.
- Ride it.
- Drop it off.
- It drives itself.
- Ready for the next rider.
Steers and brakes itself
Steering and brake modules slide into the top tube.
Retractable support wheels
Down for driving itself, folded away when someone rides.
Sees in 3D
A LiDAR maps the surroundings and finds a safe path.
From a blank sheet to fully autonomous runs in nine months.
A team of ETH mechanical engineering students designed, built and programmed AutoBike within a single academic year.
- Sep 2025Project startA blank sheet and one goal: a share bike that returns itself.
- Jan 2026First driveThe bike drives for the first time, remote-controlled.
- May 2026Fully autonomous runsOur second prototype completes fully autonomous runs from ETH Zentrum to UZH.
- May 2026Public rolloutWe present AutoBike to the public at ETH Zürich.
- Jun 2026Nine months completeNext: pilots with partners.
What would AutoBike save your fleet?
You know your own costs best. The fields are prefilled with public benchmarks: replace them with your figures. Every other assumption is open too, with its source.
Why fewer bikes? Operators keep extra bikes in the fleet so riders still find one after one-way trips have emptied some stations. When bikes drive themselves to where riders need them, fewer bikes give the same availability.
Adjust assumptions
The range varies every assumption you have not set yourself between its low and high value. Not included: extra revenue from more trips, and battery logistics.
Built with ETH’s Autonomous Systems Lab.
Developed at ETH Zürich under the supervision of the Autonomous Systems Lab, led by Prof. Roland Siegwart, and built on a PubliBike frame in partnership with PubliBike.
Meet the team →
Let’s talk about AutoBike for your fleet.
Operator, site owner or investor: tell us what you’re working on. We’ll run the numbers with your data and look at what a pilot could look like.
What operators ask us
Is it safe?
When driving itself, AutoBike moves at walking pace with its support wheels down, so it can’t tip over. A 360° LiDAR detects people and obstacles, and the bike stops or plans around them.
Is it legal to drive without a rider?
In Switzerland, the Ordinance on Automated Driving has allowed driverless vehicles since 1 March 2025, on routes approved by the canton and supervised remotely by an operator (ASTRA). We are in contact with ASTRA about how this applies to AutoBike. Rules differ from country to country, which is why we start on private grounds and in approved zones.
Does the rider notice anything?
Very little. The support wheels fold away and the steering and brake modules sit inside the frame, so it rides like a normal share e-bike.
Does it replace our rebalancing crews completely?
Not entirely. Crews still handle repairs and, for e-bikes, battery swaps. That is why the calculator assumes AutoBike takes over 80 % of crew moves by default, not 100 %. You can change that figure under “Adjust assumptions”.
Our contract requires a minimum number of bikes. Does a smaller fleet still help?
Minimum fleet sizes exist so riders find a bike when they need one. AutoBike addresses that directly, because bikes move to where demand is. If your contract fixes the fleet size, the same bikes serve more trips instead: the gain shows up as revenue rather than as lower cost.
What does an AutoBike cost?
The current bike is a research prototype. For the calculator we assume a production AutoBike costs about 1,000 more than a standard shared e-bike. That figure is an estimate.
When can we run a pilot?
AutoBike is being developed at ETH Zürich and has completed its first autonomous test drives. We are talking to partners about pilots now. Get in touch.