May Mobility to test driverless shuttles in Ann Arbor

May Mobility is slowly advancing its driverless capabilities. The startup this week launched a small-scale deployment of autonomous shuttles, which will drive themselves along a fixed route without a human safety driver present. May will initially deploy one to two autonomous Toyota Sienna minivans to ferry employees and “invited guests” across a 2-square-mile area of the city.

This is the second city where May is performing so-called “driver-out” operations. In December 2023, the startup began driverless testing in a planned community in Sun City, Arizona, where it is currently carrying passengers for free. 

May Mobility co-founder and CEO Edwin Olson said starting “driver-out” operations in a second city in under a year shows the scalability of its technology. He added it also expands the driverless system’s capabilities to challenging weather, higher speeds and busy traffic.

May Mobility says it hopes to expand driverless testing in 2025 to Peachtree Corners, Georgia, where the startup currently tests with a safety driver.

The startup also plans to bring its AVs to the Lyft app in Atlanta next year as part of a multi-year partnership with the ride-hail firm.