Are we there yet? 100,000 Rides in May Mobility’s Self-Driving Shuttle

Where are we? We are in Detroit. We are in Columbus. We are in Providence. We are in Grand Rapids. We are transporting people in urban cores. We are listening to rider feedback, to help us navigate, as we drive into the near future. And we are celebrating how far we’ve come:

1 ride
10 rides
100 rides
1000 rides
10,000 rides
100,000 rides, are we there, yet? ← We are here.
1,000,000 rides
10,000,000 rides
100,000,000 rides
1,000,000,000 rides

Where are we? We are 100k rides in and interested in sharing what we are learning.

A Simple Model To Guide Us

May Mobility has a launch and learn strategy that we’ve used to come this far. We’re curious and playful and self aware.

We recognize that no one knows how to launch autonomous shuttles to provide a new kind of transportation service in a community. Because this is the first time in the history of the world it’s being done, we’ve developed a simple model that, when mixed with our company culture, guides us as we drive at 22mph into the future…

Our simple model: Safety, Rider UX, and Autonomy

• Safety first: We operate at a low speed on defined routes. This allows us to maintain focus on what the technology is capable of safely delivering today.
• Rider UX: We aim for a smooth ride + a useful destination + fun. We are so thrilled that our riders keep giving us feedback, so we can keep improving our service and their experience.
• Autonomy: Our autonomous technology is amazing. It will wow you with how smooth our ride is and how well we navigate mixed traffic. Our vow is to harness your wow, and to keep improving every day.

In our simple model, May’s vision of success places autonomy third among our priorities. It is necessary but not sufficient. That’s because May’s success is tied to the success of our riders — and our riders are trying to get somewhere. Our riders value safety first and then rider UX, followed by autonomy. That prioritized framework guides how May interacts with the world.

We Heart Feedback

Riders love our service. They tell us everyday. (As previous written, we have the numbers to back it up.) 100k rides in and our NPS has climbed into the 80s!

Presented as word clouds and quotes, here are what riders are saying about May Mobility:

• “Friendly service, fast & efficient”
• “No wait time to or from work”
• “It is convenient and eco-friendly”
• “Friendly experience and gives my time back”
• “It’s quick and easy transportation”
• “Excellent service”

• “The wait time is awesome. I never have to wait”
• “Secure transport to work”
• “More efficient/reliable than previous shuttles”
• “Being able to get to work on time, because there is always a shuttle available”
• “Warmth in the cold and security at night when it’s dark”
• “It cuts the stress from commuting”
• “Quick to my car and easier on my pregnancy”
• “Getting closer to where I work from where I park”

Our Detroit partners, Bedrock, shared that they have had one customer complaint from their riders on the route May Mobility services. One. Over a year of service, and one complaint. As an industry, transportation is known for unhappy customers and riders. What’s this decrease in unhappy riders worth? Our partner Bedrock’s response, “Pure gold. The rider knows it’s reliable and can count on May’s service. The amount of time I spend addressing rider issues has gone to zero. Consequently, I can refocus my attention on adding value to our business.”

Learning Along The Path: Use Cases

With our launch and learn strategy, we’ve been able to reflect upon being 100k rides in, and what makes for a good vs poor use case? Turns out, people don’t buy technology, they buy better versions of themselves.

• A good use case: helping people get around + the wow of self driving
• A poor use case: technology demonstrator alone

Think about a stand alone elevator in the middle of a field. Step right up and ride the elevator. You do no work. It goes up. It goes down. You stand still. Come for the view. Leave with a new perspective. Experience elevator technology. We hope you tell your friends and come back and ride everyday.

Now think about that same elevator in your apartment building. Ride it at the beginning and end of everyday. Returning home from the grocery store with 8 bags to your 10th floor walk up? We can help; let’s get you home sooner, so you can focus on making dinner and spending time with the family.

May is doubling down on use cases that help people get around, safely, easily, and with a lot more fun. We’ll wow you with our tech, but the foundation of our relationship will be the trust you place in us to help you get around each and every day. Success for May is changing transportation habits (your daily commute made better!)

As we think about our continued focus on launch and learn, the Providence route is a great example of our learning. The hours of operation were chosen to take into account RI commuters —one of the stops is the Amtrak station! We are really excited about this daily commuter use case as well as open to discovering all the ways we can help serve the Downtown and Olneyville communities.

Another great example of launch and learn is underway in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In less than 2 weeks of service, we have delivered 2000 riders to their downtown destinations along the 20 stop route. We are thrilled to see this adoption and look forward to the continued growth of this public-private partnership.

Are we there yet? Yes, if by there you mean we’ve learned a lot by giving 100,000 rides in a self-driving shuttle. But I see 1,000,000 rides up ahead; join us as we journey on.