Spain has taken the first step for the arrival of robotaxis, but it has not yet fully opened the door for them to circulate with no one at the wheel. The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has authorized WeRide, Uber, and Avomo to deploy a first fleet of level 4 autonomous vehicles in Madrid, within the experimental framework created to test this technology on roads open to traffic.
Uber plans to start before the end of 2026 with 20 vehicles in different high-demand areas of the Community of Madrid. Users will be able to request rides through their application, although during the initial mapping tests and the first routes there will be a safety operator inside the car.
The company has not specified when it will be able to remove that supervisor. The date will depend on the results of the tests, subsequent administrative authorizations, and the development of a regulation that allows these vehicles to be incorporated into regular circulation.
The difference is essential: the DGT has authorized an experimental test of automated vehicles, but not a general and indefinite implementation of completely unoccupied robotaxis.
An authorization supported by the DGT's experimental program
The tests will be developed within the Framework Program for the Evaluation of Safety and Technology of Automated Vehicles, called the ES-AV Program, approved by the DGT in June 2025.
This instrument allows for the authorization and supervision of tests of autonomous vehicles and remote driving on roads open to traffic. However, it does not constitute the definitive legal regime for registering and operating driverless cars on a general basis.
The program establishes three stages:
- Controlled phase, for technologies still in development and tests conducted in limited environments.
- Extensive phase, when the system can already be tested continuously and under more realistic traffic conditions.
- Pre-deployment phase, immediately prior to the commercialization or launch of the service.
To participate, manufacturers, developers, and operators must demonstrate the safety of the system, have data recording devices, have liability insurance, and designate qualified operators, who can be inside the vehicle or supervise it remotely.
Companies must also submit periodic and final reports, in addition to communicating any accidents and incidents that occur. The DGT can limit, suspend, or withdraw the authorization if it detects risks to road safety. The Ministry of the Interior explains the operation of the ES-AV Program.
What regulation is missing to drive without a driver
The pending piece is the Royal Decree on automated driving prepared by the Ministry of the Interior. Its draft was published in March 2024 with the purpose of modifying two fundamental regulations:
The General Traffic Regulation, approved by Royal Decree 1428/2003.
The General Vehicle Regulation, approved by Royal Decree 2822/1998.
The reform must transfer to the regulations the provisions incorporated into the Traffic Law in 2021. That modification recognized the existence of automated driving systems and empowered the Government to develop its legal regime.
The future royal decree must determine, among other issues:
- On which roads, streets, and conditions automated driving can be activated.
- What requirements the vehicle must meet before joining ordinary traffic.
- How it will be certified that the system complies with traffic rules.
- Who will be considered responsible for the system while it is activated.
- What functions a security operator or remote supervisor must assume.
- How the level of automation and the environment in which each vehicle can operate will be recorded.
- What obligations will exist in case of breakdown, accident, or need to regain control.
- How updates to the software and changes in the vehicle's capabilities must be communicated to the DGT.
The Traffic Law itself already requires the holder of the automated system to communicate its functionalities and its operational design domain to the DGT, that is, the roads, weather conditions, speeds, and specific circumstances in which it can operate. It also establishes that these capabilities must appear in the Vehicle Register and in the circulation permit, but leaves its effective application pending regulatory development. Current text of the Traffic Law in the BOE.
The royal decree has been in preparation since 2024
The Ministry of the Interior published the draft in March 2024. The initial forecast was to approve it before the end of that year, but that schedule was not met.
As of September 2026, the specific royal decree on automated driving has not been approved or published in the BOE. Therefore, the project continues without becoming the regulatory standard that allows for the general integration of these vehicles into circulation.
The ES-AV Program of 2025 has partially covered this gap through experimental authorizations. Its pre-deployment phase brings the projects closer to commercialization, but does not replace the definitive administrative authorization nor convert the tests into a general permit to provide driverless services.
Consequently, it cannot yet be stated that Spain has authorized the free circulation of level 4 robotaxis. What it has allowed is for companies to accumulate kilometers, validate the technology, and certify its safety while the regulatory framework is completed.
Europe is already regulating technical homologation
The future Spanish standard does not start from scratch. The European Union already has common rules for homologating automated driving systems.
The Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1426 establishes the technical specifications and procedures for homologating fully automated vehicles intended, among other cases, for the transport of passengers in a specific area or for routes between fixed points.
This European regulation verifies that the vehicle and its automated system meet the technical safety requirements. However, it is up to each State to establish the traffic rules, administrative permits, and the conditions under which those vehicles can use their roads. European regulation on automated driving systems.
The DGT does not authorize the transport service on its own
Passing traffic tests will not be enough to provide a commercial robotaxi service. The authorization from the DGT affects road safety and the circulation of the vehicle, but the paid transport of passengers is subject to additional regulation.
Avomo, which will act as the fleet operator, will have to comply with state and regional regulations on passenger transport and the conditions applicable to VTC authorizations. Uber will operate as a platform to book the trips and WeRide will provide the vehicle and the autonomous driving technology.
Therefore, the project needs to overcome three regulatory levels: European technical homologation, state authorization to circulate, and the corresponding regional authorization to transport passengers.
What level 4 autonomy means
The cars from WeRide have a level 4 autonomy system. This means they can perform all driving functions by themselves, without human intervention, but only within a previously defined environment.
This environment may be limited to certain streets, weather conditions, speeds, or times. If the vehicle leaves this operational domain, it must reach a safe situation or allow the operator to intervene.
The level 5, even more advanced, would allow driving without human intervention on any road and practically under any condition. The level 4 vehicles that will be tested in Madrid will not have that universal capability.
The authorization known this Thursday thus makes Madrid one of the first European laboratories for robotaxis, but it does not eliminate the main legal limit: until the Government approves the pending regulatory development, driverless circulation will continue to depend on experimental permits and individualized conditions.