Mobility for Everyone, Everywhere: Wheelchair-Accessible AVs in Minnesota

May Mobility's goal for this Grand Rapids, Minnesota project is to demonstrate that AVs reach their greatest societal impact when used for public transportation. This rural AV deployment allows anyone to book a free, on-demand, shared ride from an AV. The project also advances the deployments of AVs in rural terrains and diverse and sometimes harsh weather conditions.

“We’re passionate about making transportation better for everyone, and providing innovative, accessible transportation solutions to rural communities is a key next step in that journey,” said Edwin Olson, CEO for May Mobility. “May Mobility and Via are proud to bring cutting-edge technology and services to Grand Rapids with the first commercial fleet of Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicles.”

May Mobility’s fleet in Grand Rapids marks the first commercial launch of the Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS platform, including the first ADA-compliant ramp versions of the vehicle that the company announced earlier this year.

The 18-month project, called “goMARTI,” was created, built and deployed with the generous support of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, The PLUM Catalyst LLC, 211, Mobility Mania, the City of Grand Rapids, Itasca County, the Department of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation, the Blandin Foundation and Visit Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Video Transcription

I'm very proud that May Mobility is here because it's the perfect synergy of both technology and community service. We're very excited to be launching 3 ADA-compliant Toyota Siennas. And what that means is these vehicles can pick up wheelchair users and it's really easy for them to book a ride, but then also the loading and unloading process is very smooth as well.

So part of what May Mobility is always trying to do is make sure that we're not adding congestion. In fact, we're hoping to relieve it. So you'll see on a lot of our routes that we use back roads. We choose stops that are less congested. We stay off from the busy streets, and hopefully we meet the needs of the people traveling here in a way that actually relieves some of the stress of the commute. But at the heart of it, it's about meeting the needs of the people that are already here that just want to get to places with a better, more fun way.