Michigan-based May Mobility has started an autonomous vehicle (AV) pilot programme in Detroit providing free rides to select residents age 62 and older or who live with disabilities.

The pilot programme launched this month and will run six days per week and operate across 68 stops in 28 square kilometres of downtown Detroit.

The Detroit Automated Driving Systems (ADS) pilot is being carried out in partnership with Detroit’s Office of Mobility Innovation (OMI) and the Michigan Mobility Collaborative (MMC). The Accessibili-D service aims to improve the quality of life for Detroiters who live with disabilities or are age 62 and older. The service will be available to select residents until 2026.

May Mobility will deploy three AVs, including two wheelchair-accessible vehicles, to help participants achieve greater access to healthcare facilities, shopping centres, jobs, and social and recreational activities. The free service will operate from 8am to 6pm weekdays and 8am to 1pm on weekends. Persons interested in riding the service must submit an Expression of Interest form (detroitmi.gov/government/mayors-office/office-mobility-innovation/detroit-ads-self-driving-shuttles) and will be contacted to enrol. Once enrolled, they can book a ride through the Accessibili-D app.

“Many Detroiters have trouble getting around due to the costs of owning a car or mobility challenges arising from age or disabilities,” said Edwin Olson, CEO of May Mobility. “We’re excited to show how autonomous technology can help in Detroit, where we will be launching our largest service area to date.”

Last July, the Detroit City Council unanimously approved a $2.4m contract with May Mobility to provide the Accessibili-D service. The MMC and May Mobility have conducted various outreach programmes within the community to educate future riders about the benefits of May Mobility’s AVs and to pinpoint locations of interest around downtown Detroit that best serve the members using the service. Based on rider feedback, May Mobility and OMI plan to expand the service zone further over the coming months with additional stops and vehicles.

“We’re thrilled to launch the Accessibili-D autonomous shuttle service, a vital step towards enhancing mobility for our older residents and those with disabilities,” said Tim Slusser, OMI chief. “This free, innovative service will provide safe and efficient transportation, greatly improving access to essential services for residents who have faced difficulty navigating their needs in the city. We are thankful for the expert collaboration of the institutions and individuals at the Michigan Mobility Collaborative and May Mobility for their invaluable partnership. Together, we’re making Detroit a more inclusive city for all.”

May Mobility performed vehicle testing with the University of Michigan’s Mcity and the American Center for Mobility (ACM) in preparation for launch. Testing protocols included the Mcity Safety Assessment programme (mcity.umich.edu/automated-shuttle-for-detroit-starts-safety-testing-at-mcity), made up of a driver’s licence test and driving intelligence test, and a testing and evaluation process (acmwillowrun.org/detroit-ads-pilot-safety-testing-to-commence-at-american-center-for-mobility) developed by ACM that simulated genuine scenarios encountered in urban settings such as Detroit.

The AVs use May’s MPDM multi-policy decision making technology to navigate city streets. Each vehicle is equipped with multiple lidar, radar and cameras that feed MPDM a 360-degree view of its surroundings. Using the data collected from the AV’s sensor suite, MPDM can virtually simulate thousands of possible scenarios every second. As the AV detects vehicles, pedestrians, bikers and pets, MPDM quickly analyses the best manoeuvre to perform to reach its destination efficiently and safely, even in unencountered situations.

The pilot is May Mobility’s 14th deployment. The company operates in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Grand Rapids, Minnesota; Miami, Florida.; Arlington, Texas; and Sun City, Arizona.

May Mobility (www.maymobility.com) develops AV technology and deploys fleets of vehicles to municipal and business users. Its MPDM system has delivered more than 350,000 autonomy-enabled rides to date in public transit applications across the USA and Japan.

The OMI (detroitmi.gov/government/mayors-office/office-mobility-innovation) exists to help Detroit navigate the rapidly changing transportation and mobility industries.