Stopping driver shortage: Moia demands billions for autonomous shuttle fleets VW subsidiary Moia wants to save public transport with autonomous shuttles and demands state funding. The group is also considering bringing in investors. Public transport in Germany is heading for personnel problems. By 2030, estimates suggest that up to 120,000 bus drivers could be missing. According to industry experts, this demographic change is the real driving force behind the technological transformation towards robo-buses, going beyond mere promises of efficiency. Sascha Meyer, CEO of Volkswagen subsidiary Moia, therefore sees autonomous shuttles not just as a technical gimmick. For him, they are the only way to maintain the mobility level in German cities in the face of dwindling personnel. Meyer outlined a roadmap for market ramp-up in a podcast by Table.Today published on Saturday. However, this requires extensive financial participation from the state. The company strategist proposes the establishment of three model regions, each deploying around 2000 autonomous vehicles. To achieve this goal, he estimates state support of approximately 500 million euros per region. So, it's about a lot of money: According to Meyer, the total development costs for the technology are in the billions. The Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) has already signaled interest. However, it is tempering expectations of large cash injections and points to the current lack of funds for a project of this magnitude. Videos by heise The call for state support underscores the investment pressure in an industry suffering from high operating costs. In Hamburg, for example, the IG Metall union is currently demanding a 20 percent wage increase for the drivers of the still manually operated shuttles. This cost pressure has already forced Moia to curtail its own offerings. From ride-sharing to technology provider To become profitable, the provider is fundamentally restructuring its business model, according