ANN
ARBOR, Mich., July 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- May Mobility, a leader in the
development and deployment of autonomous driving (AD) technology,
today announced that more than 10,000 riders have used its goMARTI
autonomous vehicle service in Grand
Rapids, Minn. since its launch in September 2022. Grand
Rapids is a rural community known for extreme winter weather
patterns and steep snow banks. This milestone demonstrates May
Mobility's ability to operate under challenging and diverse
circumstances while becoming a trusted and vital resource for the
community.
May Mobility, the Minnesota Department of Transportation
(MnDOT), The PLUM Catalyst and the city of Grand Rapids partnered to deliver an
accessible transportation option that augments existing
transportation. By providing wheelchair-accessible vehicles and
operating in the evenings and on weekends, May Mobility's
autonomous vehicle offerings have earned the rural community's
trust and acceptance. According to a series of MnDOT rider surveys,
98% of riders expressed positive feelings toward the service, up
23% since its launch. Additionally, 98% of riders reported feeling
safe in the vehicles, leading to a 30% increase in their comfort
levels with the technology compared to pre-ride responses.
A greater sense of safety and comfort can be attributed in part
to May Mobility's unique approach to autonomous technology. While
many autonomous vehicles rely exclusively on large numbers of
pre-programmed examples to "learn" how to drive, May Mobility's
autonomous vehicles learn how to handle never-before-seen
situations using the company's Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM)
technology. MPDM performs real-time reinforcement learning, which
allows the vehicle to make educated decisions. It does so by
analyzing thousands of possible scenarios every second and
discarding potential maneuvers that would put anyone in harm's way
for a safer and more comfortable ride.
Grand Rapids provided May
Mobility the opportunity to study operations in harsh winter
climate conditions. With thousands of petabytes of data collected
from more than 160,000 miles of driving, the goMARTI service has
played a crucial role in further improving the technology. The data
collected during snowy conditions has been valuable in developing
robust algorithms that contribute to safer autonomous driving in
varying environments across May Mobility's current and upcoming
sites.
"Our autonomous vehicles handled the challenging weather very
well, showing that MPDM was able to handle situations outside our
training set," said Edwin Olson.
"With the priceless data from these 10,000 riders, we will be able
to continue to improve our goMARTI service and help communities
across the country solve some of their hardest transportation
challenges."
The goMARTI service is free to use and its route includes
approximately 70 pick-up and drop-off points including grocery
stores, medical sites, and community and recreation centers. May
Mobility's fleet of five autonomous vehicles includes three that
are wheelchair-accessible, providing a much-needed transportation
option to people with mobility disabilities. Currently, MnDOT, The
PLUM Catalyst and May Mobility are working to expand goMARTI's
hours of operation and service area, and plan to add additional
wheelchair-accessible vehicles to its fleet.
"I have an autoimmune disorder called lymphedema. It's really
hard to walk around without my legs stinging," said goMARTI's
10,000th rider, Kaylien Miller. "If
I didn't have goMARTI, then I'd constantly have to depend on my
parents for rides to work, rides around town, and to hang out with
my friends because I don't have a license."
Additional data regarding goMARTI ridership:
- Over 7,500 autonomous rides have been successfully completed,
and 29% of these rides carried two or more riders
- Of the 10,000 riders, 91% are repeat customers
- The average ride rating is 4.95 out of 5 stars from over 1,200
reviews
- 8% of rides included WAV (wheelchair-accessible vehicle)
requests
- The program doubled in ridership in the past seven months since
its launch in September 2022
- According to riders, the top three reasons for using the
service are for daily errands, commuting to work and leisurely
activities
- Based on rider feedback, the newly added Target department
store has rapidly become one of the most popular stops
About May Mobility
May Mobility develops
autonomous driving (AD) technology and deploys fleets of vehicles
to municipal and business customers as part of its mission to make
cities safer, greener and more accessible. Its Multi-Policy
Decision Making (MPDM) system sets it
apart in the AV space. MPDM
analyzes thousands of potential scenarios every second,
enabling it to quickly make safe maneuvers even in newly
experienced situations. MPDM's proven track record has
delivered more than 350,000 autonomous rides to date in public
transit applications across the U.S. and Japan. By forming key strategic partnerships
with top-class automotive and technology companies, such as Toyota
Motor Corporation and NTT, May Mobility is
successfully improving transportation across the globe. For more
information, visit www.maymobility.com.
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SOURCE May Mobility