The small robot bus clearly reaches its limits when things get complicated in traffic.

Sometimes he stops unnecessarily abruptly because he suspects a danger where there is none.

Then it trundles on at the top speed of 25 kilometers per hour - only to suddenly stop and let all other vehicles pass before it finally arrives safely at its destination.

The Hamburger Hochbahn calls the project in Hafencity HEAT, an abbreviation for "Hamburg Electric Autonomous Transportation".

Using the small, red and black prototype, it is intended to explore the possibilities of autonomously driving minibuses in city traffic.

Christian Müßgens

Business correspondent in Hamburg.

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The bus, a development by the engineering service provider IAV, Hochbahn and other partners, has been circulating in the area between the Speicherstadt, Elbphilharmonie and Überseequartier for several months. Now it is particularly in the focus, because HEAT is one of 42 anchor projects of the ITS World Congress, a trade fair for intelligent transport systems, which is meeting this week in the Hanseatic city. Around 13,000 visitors are expected, and the Green Transport Senator Anjes Tjarks promises that the people of Hamburg will benefit permanently from the projects presented. The aim is to become the “digital model city for smart mobility of the future”.

The fair wants to cover the entire transport sector, including goods logistics, which is obvious because of the location of Hamburg with its port and the many companies located there.

Local public transport is, however, a focus with important showcase projects.

Deutsche Bahn and Siemens are sending a driverless S-Bahn on tour on the S21 route in east Hamburg on the occasion of the trade fair, a world premiere with its special technology.

The Hamburger Verkehrsverbund HVV presents an app that automatically calculates journeys, which should make the classic ticket superfluous.

Autonomous group taxis from private providers, a closer connection between bus, train, city bike and rental car: all of this should relieve inner-city traffic.

Goals that sound utopian

This is an important topic for Germany's second largest city with almost 1.9 million inhabitants. Because the road network is overloaded in many places, especially at peak times when traffic axes such as Stresemannstraße or Sievekingsallee sink into traffic jams. Many Hamburgers therefore roll their eyes when Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) proclaims, as now at the start of the ITS Congress, that they are a city that is “actively promoting” the mobility transition.

Little of this can still be seen in everyday life.

However, things should move forward quickly within the next few years.

Hamburg wants to increase the proportion of journeys made by public transport, shuttle services from private providers such as Moia, by bike or on foot from 64 percent by 2030 to 80 percent.

The SPD and the co-ruling Greens see themselves as one of the pioneering cities in Germany.