
ANN ARBOR—The autonomous vehicle developer May Mobility, the Mcity advanced vehicle testing center at the University of Michigan, and Ann Arbor Spark, the economic development agency for Washtenaw and Livingston counties, announced the launch of A2GO, a new autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle service serving the Ann Arbor community.
The free shuttle service will be available to the public beginning Monday, Oct. 11, 2021, thanks in part to a grant through the mobility efforts of the state of Michigan.
Under A2GO service, May Mobility will operate a fleet of five autonomous, shared, on-demand vehicles. Four hybrid-electric Lexus RX 450h vehicles with three-passenger capacity and one Polaris GEM fully electric vehicle with capacity for one wheelchair passenger will operate in a 2.64 square-mile service area connecting Kerrytown with downtown, the University of Michigan’s Central and South campuses, Pulse Campus, and the State Street corridor.
The free service is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Riders will access the service via the May Mobility app, which is available through the Apple App store and Google Play.
“From the talented workforce to the proximity of strong private and municipal partnerships, Ann Arbor has played a critical role in May Mobility’s success,” said Edwin Olson, CEO of May Mobility. “We are proud to bring our autonomous shuttle service to not just our hometown, but the place where our technology was born.”
Since originally announcing service in Ann Arbor, May Mobility has hired four full-time employees and will hire up to 20 autonomous vehicle operators to support the full A2GO deployment, with several open positions currently hiring. On Oct. 12, May Mobility will host an official launch event in Ann Arbor offering demonstrations of its autonomous technology.
Additional partners on A2GO include Important Safety Technologies, a Montreal-based autonomous vehicle systems developer with offices in Ann Arbor, Berkeley, Calif., and Washington, D.C.; 4M, the Ann Arbor developer of live-work apartments; the state of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification; and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
A2GO is May Mobility’s eighth shuttle deployment since the company began operations. May Mobility is currently operating shuttles in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Arlington, Texas, Hiroshima, Japan, and Indianapolis, Indiana.
“The deployment of A2GO exemplifies Michigan’s leadership and innovation in public-private partnerships to facilitate long lasting change within our mobility ecosystem,” said Trevor Pawl, Michigan’s Chief Mobility Officer.
The A2GO service demonstrates how communities can work together to incorporate transportation, safety, land use, and economic development into the mobility landscape. One of the community partners involved in A2GO is 4M, Ann Arbor’s first co-living townhomes that offer co-working spaces and mobility to their members. A2GO’s site operations are located at 4M’s site, including garage parking for May Mobility’s autonomous shuttles, material storage and offices for onsite staff that maintain daily operations, train autonomous vehicle operators (AVOs) and manage rider and AVO communications.
“Our partnership with May Mobility and the other A2GO team members is critical to our evaluation of future value-based housing and lifestyle solutions and our planning for upcoming real estate projects and developments,” said Margaret Poscher, CEO at Prentice4M.
More at maymobility.com, https://mcity.umich.edu, www.AnnArborUSA.org, www.michiganbusiness.org/OFME, www.prentice4m.com, and www.important.com.