You Probably Haven't Heard of This Successful Robotaxi Company - There's a Reason Why

May Mobility aims to revolutionize urban transportation by deploying fully driverless services, starting with Sun City, Arizona. Photo: Courtesy of May Mobility.

The Scoop: Over the years, more and more companies have aimed toward making vehicles smarter, autonomous, and for some, even completely driverless. Although these innovations have delivered varied results, one thing's for sure; the future of the car industry may soon rest in the hands of autonomous vehicles. Many companies have attempted to manufacture and successfully release these to the public, and there have certainly been numerous bumps along the road. Remember Waymo? They were doing pretty good until..... they reported 150 crashes to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in around June/July of 2023 and even killed a small dog. Yep. Well, what about GM's Cruise? Sadly, they've made multiple headlines for quite gruesome crashes, and the October 2nd crash even forced them to suspend their autonomous operations nationwide (Their driverless services are still paused). Yes, I know. Shocking. However, it's not just these companies. Countless companies like these suffered the consequences of one faulty mechanism. It's not that they're unlucky. They might just be targeting the wrong locations for driverless services. (Don't worry, not all companies are plagued with setbacks and/or losses. There are still countless successful driverless companies out there.) See, these services cost a lot to not just manufacture but also operate. A LOT. By the point at which most companies have released these vehicles to the public, much of their money has gone into the vehicles themselves. To compensate for these extensive costs plus the cost to operate, they must find a way to get themselves the maximum amount of passengers, which forces them to work not only 24/7, but they must also choose a location that attracts many people, where taxis are most common. And where could that be? Cities, of course! Urban areas, like Los Angeles (which has more than 2,300 taxis) or New York (which has 13,587 taxis) could be an absolute perfect place to get started. That's why these companies start in cities and try to transport as many people as possible. For them, the cities are associated with lots of people to transport, but maybe they aren't considering the risks that come if something goes wrong. Think about it: A lot of people populate an urban area. It could be even harder to operate a driverless vehicle within a city, because of the tightly packed streets. Even a single lawsuit could lead to a potential bankruptcy.

The Story: As I mentioned before, many companies are in some way or another incorporating autonomous cars to create an Uber-like efficiency within the taxi industry, without the need for a human in the driver's seat. Among the long list of these companies is May Mobility. Does the name sound familiar to you? Most likely not. And this is no accident. It has managed to efficiently begin operating driverless vehicles, currently using Toyota Siennas, with a clean record and hasn't attracted headlines due to incidents or casualties; it's made headlines because of its overall way of maintaining a clean record. What's even more intriguing is that they manage to succeed because of an entirely different reason. If you read The Scoop section above, you may notice how I mentioned a possible reason for the casualties involving driverless vehicles: Operating in urban cities. May Mobility, on the other hand, does something very different. It focuses particularly on transportation at specific places that might need it, like mapped, easy-for-transit business districts, college campuses, etc. This allows them to further refine their maps for safety since the area is relatively smaller than an entire city. "Our strategy here is to really stack the deck in our favor", May Mobility CEO Edwin Olson stated.

"I think most people think about rider-only as being like a technological milestone. And it is, but it’s way more than that."

The company has been able to find opportunities where many others falter in their steps. May Mobility has been particularly resourceful in comparison to other startups. Although there have been incidents, they've been pretty minor. They have had instances where their cars blocked the way for emergency vehicles or just created traffic jams. Like all companies, even May Mobility has had its ups and downs. However, the ability to recover from these ups and downs makes all the difference. May Mobility has just launched in a retirement community to provide a 'rider-only' service in Arizona. The race to make fully autonomous vehicles a reality has been a bumpy ride for many companies. While some have suffered setbacks and casualties, others have managed to thrive by taking a different approach. May Mobility, for instance, has found success by focusing on specific locations and refining their maps for safety. By doing so, they have been able to stack the deck in their favor and maintain a clean record. As the industry continues to evolve, it remains to be seen which companies will ultimately succeed and which will fall by the wayside. However, one thing is clear: the future of transportation is autonomous, and the companies that can navigate the challenges ahead will be the ones that come out on top.