September 2018

May Mobility expands to a third U.S. city

may_rearquarter.jpg

TechCrunch — May Mobility launched its first low-speed autonomous shuttle service in Detroit this summer. By March, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company will be operating in at least three U.S. cities.

The company, which just announced plans to expand to Columbus, Ohio, is planning to add another route in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s a rapid acceleration for a company that was founded less than two years ago.

May Mobility is different from other companies racing to deploy autonomous vehicles at a commercial scale. The startup, which was founded by veterans in the self-driving and automotive industry, has developed low-speed autonomous shuttles that are designed to run along a specific route in business districts or corporate and college campuses.

The company said it will bring four of its six-seat electric shuttles to Grand Rapids. The one-year pilot will begin March 2019.

This latest shuttle launch is part of a broader effort called the Grand Rapids Autonomous Mobility Initiative, a coalition of companies that includes Consumers Energy, French automotive supplier Faurecia, Gentex, Rockford Construction, Seamless and furniture maker Steelcase .

The aim of the program is to study how mobility impacts city infrastructure and prepare the community for autonomous vehicles. The program will also focus on how these autonomous vehicles improve or affect the mobility of elderly and disabled people.

The fleet will operate on a 3.2-mile section of an existing bus route that provides access to downtown and two of the city’s business districts. The route includes 22 stops, 30 traffic lights and 12 turns, including three left turns, according to the initiative.

Shuttles, which will be free for riders, will run complementary to the city’s existing DASH transportation fleet.

Fleet operations for the May Mobility vehicles will be housed at Rockford Construction’s
West Side offices within Circuit West, an area that boasts an innovative electric generation and distribution system.

May Mobility raised $11.5 million in seed funding in 2018 from BMW iVentures, Toyota AI and others. Trucks, Maven Venture and Tandem Ventures are also investors in the company.

Contact Us

Channels for reporting persons.

Responsible, sustainable, and lawful conduct is an integral part of the values of the BMW Group. The BMW Group's reporting system is open to all employees, business partners, customers, or other third parties for reporting specific or potential legal violations. In this way, risks can be identified and addressed at an early stage and, if necessary, appropriate remedies can be provided. Confidentiality and the protection of informants are paramount here. On request, information can also be provided anonymously.

For further information on the reporting channels and the respective process, please visit: BMW Group Compliance

Sign up for our email list
Thank you!
Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Mountain View (HQ)
2606 Bayshore Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
USA
San Francisco
915 Battery Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
USA
Munich
Freddie-Mercury-Strasse 5
80797 Munich
Germany