May Mobility, an autonomous vehicle operator that mainly focuses on long-term transportation contracts, is expanding its fleet of vehicles to include an electric mini-bus that can carry up to 30 passengers.
The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company struck a deal with Tecnobus to acquire several of the Italian company’s mini-buses. With enough capacity for 30 people, as well as wheelchair accessibility, May Mobility hopes to expand it self-driving mobility service to new customers and new markets, including urban transit, corporate campuses, airports, planned communities, and more.
May Mobility currently operates a fleet of autonomous Toyota Sienna minivans retrofitted with the company’s autonomous hardware and software. The company operates ride-share services in geofenced, easily mapped business districts, college campuses, and closed residential communities, such as Sun City, a retirement community outside of Phoenix. May Mobility also has a partnership with Lyft to deploy autonomous vehicles on its ridehail platform.
The new minibuses can carry far more passengers than the company’s current crop of vehicles, while still being restricted to speeds of up to 45 mph. They will be targeted at markets in the US, as well as Canada and Europe, where May Mobility hopes to eventually expand. And the batteries powering the electric motor are fully swappable, meaning more uptime and less time spent charging.
May Mobility aims to have them road-ready in the first half of 2026. Of course, autonomous driving operations are in a state of flux right now. Some robotaxi companies are growing, albeit slowly, while others are out of time and money.
May Mobility has set itself apart by focusing on transportation contracts with businesses and governments, rather than try to be the Uber for autonomous vehicles. And while some robotaxis have clashed with cities, May Mobility is incentivized to address municipal concerns or risk having its contract terminated.
