Finland joins EU push to streamline self-driving vehicle testing

Finland has joined an EU initiative to harmonise approval processes for automated driving systems, aiming to remove cross-border barriers for testing self-driving vehicles.

The EU project, launched a year ago as part of the European automotive industry action plan, seeks to create uniform licensing and certification procedures across member states. Kirsi Miettinen, a legislative counsellor at Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications, estimates that UNECE vehicle regulations for automated systems will be finalised by early next year, paving the way for EU-type-approved vehicles to appear on roads by 2028.

Miettinen emphasised that international technical regulations are critical for large-scale deployment, stating that without them, widespread adoption of automated vehicles would not be feasible.

Finland’s strength lies in its low barriers between public and private sector collaboration, enabling joint trials. A recent example is Tampere’s commercial remote-supervised bus route 301, operated by Remoted, which began service after the Midsummer holiday. The route uses a robot bus developed in New Zealand but controlled by software designed in Tampere, with the driver monitoring from a remote control centre rather than onboard.

Remoted positions itself as a robot vehicle operator rather than a technology developer, aiming to remove the futuristic stigma from autonomous transport. The company’s service was procured by Tampere’s public transport agency Nysse to address the inefficiency of short, monotonous feeder routes where driver skills are underutilised.

Miettinen highlighted that solving the “first and last mile” challenge could have significant systemic impacts on traffic, potentially making public transport competitive with private car ownership.

Finland’s Transport and Communications Agency Traficom has played a key role in developing international regulations for automated driving, both within UNECE and EU working groups. Miettinen noted that Finland has long allowed automation trials on public roads, a practice not universally permitted elsewhere.