What’s Happening
Spare, the premier on-demand transit platform, has teamed up with autonomous vehicle (AV) technology pioneer, May Mobility, to deliver innovative on-demand transit services using autonomous vehicles. This strategic alliance aims to significantly influence how people commute by developing an inclusive, secure transit system tailored to meet each community’s unique needs.
Why It Matters
Global transit agencies face a daunting challenge: delivering efficient, equitable, and accessible services amidst various obstacles such as driver shortages. Current data highlights a dire workforce shortage across the transit sector. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) reports that an alarming 96% of transit agencies are grappling with workforce shortages, and 84% acknowledge that this deficit directly impedes their service provision. This dilemma affects transit agencies of all sizes and is primarily due to two intertwined factors – a high retirement rate in the industry and challenges in recruiting and retaining new operators. The partnership between Spare and May Mobility offers a timely, transformative solution to this pressing issue.
Key Points
- Utilizing Spare Open Fleets™ technology, Spare equips transit agencies to smoothly incorporate May Mobility’s wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicles into their on-demand services, while adeptly managing them alongside their existing on-demand transit fleets.
- By capitalizing on the technology and expertise of both Spare and May Mobility, transit agencies can offer an enhanced, dependable transportation experience to existing riders and extend services to those currently lacking access.
- Manik Dhar, chief commercial officer of May Mobility, believes this partnership is pivotal to expanding their services in line with the reach, coverage, and frequency needs of communities across the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe.
- The partnership arises at a critical time when transit agencies are striving to improve public transportation’s reliability and flexibility. Together, they intend to boost transit ridership in a cost-effective manner by focusing more on their microtransit and paratransit capabilities.
Bottom Line
Spare Labs’ CEO and co-founder, Kristoffer Vik Hansen, expresses his excitement about partnering with May Mobility. He envisions their collaboration as a path towards an inclusive transit system that caters to all riders’ diverse needs. By integrating May Mobility’s autonomous vehicles with Spare’s on-demand transit platform, they intend to tackle driver shortage issues and offer riders the reliable and accessible transportation they deserve.
