Ann Arbor–based May Mobility has landed $18 million in new investment to expand its Ann Arbor footprint and 200-person staff.
Founded by U-M prof Edwin Olson, the company has operated a local shuttle service called A2Go since October 2021 with funding and promotion from Ann Arbor SPARK. The long-term plan is to partner with public transit authorities and others looking to expand “last mile” connections in city centers.
Recently, a request on the company’s mobile app brought a spacious hybrid Lexus SUV to a pickup spot on the corner of Main and Ann less than five minutes later.
Aka, in the driver’s seat, says that on a typical day, he does little more than watch the controls and look out for potential hazards. Today, though, he’s doing the driving himself—there’s a problem with one of the sensors. The fleet is still in the testing stage, collecting data that will improve the navigation technology.
May’s “multi-policy decision making system” feeds data from five lidars, eight cameras, and five radars to a simulator that runs dozens of scenarios per second to predict what might happen next. Aka, an undergrad studying computer science and electrical engineering in Dearborn, is impressed at “how much the car can do when it goes on its own thing. It can make turns and detect pedestrians. It’s just mind-blowing to me how smoothly everything can operate without me.”
He’s had to intervene only a couple of times when riders were onboard. For example, he says, if a distracted pedestrian suddenly steps into the road, “the car might stop itself at the last second, and I’m just here to prevent a hard stop, so that a rider doesn’t feel like they’re getting launched.”
The Lexus SUVs have been the backbone of the Ann Arbor fleet, but May is partnering with backer Toyota to transition to the company’s hybrid Sienna minivan. Toyota calls it the “SiennaAutono-MaaS”—a mashup of “autonomy” and “mobility as a service.”
A2Go serves a 1.3-mile radius—basically campus to downtown, with a leg south to Prentice 4M’s live-work apartments on Henry St.—Monday through Saturday from 2 p.m.–8 p.m. Rides are free on weekdays and cost $3 on Saturday.
May Mobility expects to begin demonstrating driverless, rider-only vehicles by the end of the year.
