Russian government approves bill regulating self-driving cars, taxis, and trams, Kommersant reports

The Russian government approved the final version of a bill called “On Highly Automated Vehicles” on November 12, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported after reviewing the document.The bill took more than five years to draft. Russia’s Transport Ministry has worked on it since 2021, and the document lays out general requirements and operating rules for self-driving cars, trucks, taxis, and trams.The bill will also, among other things, regulate liability in traffic accidents, set requirements for protecting self-driving vehicles’ software, and specify the systems autonomous vehicles must carry.The bill has not yet been submitted to the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, but will be “in the near future,” Kommersant reported.A range of self-driving vehicles, including taxis, trams, and trucks, have operated in Russia since 2018, usually with an operator in the cabin as backup.Moscow already operates Russia’s first self-driving tram, which has run on route No. 10 from Kulakov Street to the Shchukinskaya metro station since September 2025. In November 2026, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin promised that the number of self-driving trams would rise to 15 by the end of 2026 and to 25 by 2027.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.