EDEN PRAIRIE, MN, November 7, 2024 – SouthWest Transit (SWT) held an Autonomous Vehicle (AV) unveiling event yesterday, bringing together local leaders and stakeholders to celebrate this milestone initiative and welcome the new technology to the Twin Cities. Attendees were given the opportunity to experience the AVs firsthand through short rides in the vicinity of SouthWest Station in Eden Prairie. 

The event featured speakers including Erik Hansen, CEO of SouthWest Transit; Mayor Ron Case of Eden Prairie; Quinn Kliman, Vice President of Customers at Spare; Deb Barber, District 4 Representative of the Metropolitan Council; and Manik Dhar, Chief Commercial Officer of May Mobility (MM). 

“This is really a story about partnerships, because there are many people that it took to put this all together,” said Hansen. “This [initiative] is really central to our mission at SWT about serving people, serving our customers, and connecting people from where they are to where they want to go, and doing that in innovative and really fascinating ways that represent the future of transit.”  

Mayor Case highlighted Eden Prairie’s (EP) role in leading innovative technology, noting, “For the sake of our city, for the sake of the region, for the sake of the country, world, it’s important that we do stay cutting-edge and innovative… When you get the new technology that’s coming online, you don’t overnight transition from wherever you were… It’s got to be transitional, and somebody has to be out there starting it and piloting it… To have Eden Prairie be the leader in some of these innovative technologies is really exciting for me, but I think it’s exciting for EP and it benefits our residents and businesses… It just benefits all of us.”  

Dhar expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “I’m super delighted to be here to celebrate the upcoming launch of SW Prime’s AV service in Eden Prairie. I’d like to give a big thanks to Erik Hansen and the entire team at SWT. With the support and collaboration of our partners here, residents and guests of Eden Prairie will now have the opportunity to experience our innovative transportation solution. We’re proud to stand alongside SouthWest Transit to drive a movement that’s transforming transportation and look forward to working together as we drive toward a connected, autonomous future.” 

Additional information about the SW Prime AV service is available on the SWT website. Look for official launch and service details later this year. 

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About SouthWest Transit  

SouthWest Transit is an award-winning Transit agency serving the SouthWest Twin Cities area through bus, on-demand rideshare, and shuttle services. The agency is committed to serving the needs of their customers through diverse and innovative transit solutions that build the community and connect customers from where they are to where they want to go. Visit www.swtransit.org for more information and follow along on LinkedIn. 

About May Mobility 

May Mobility is an autonomous driving (AD) technology company redefining the future of autonomous mobility-as-a-service (MaaS). Leveraging its patented Multi-Policy Decision Making (MPDM) system, May Mobility built an industry-leading in-situ AI solution, which integrates real-time data every 200 milliseconds to ensure safety and efficiency, even in unpredictable situations. This revolutionary technology pairs live, online learning with traditional offline training, enabling rapid global deployment at half the cost and a fraction of the time. Operating fleets of on-demand shared ride vehicles across the U.S. and Japan, May Mobility delivers safer, more efficient transportation across diverse environments, including rural cities, dense urban areas and challenging weather conditions. Backed by strategic partnerships with industry leaders, including Toyota Motor Corporation and NTT, May Mobility is disrupting the autonomous vehicle industry with one of the most practical vehicle offerings available. The company has completed over 400,000 autonomy-enabled rides across 16 deployments worldwide. For more information, visit www.maymobility.com. 

L-R: Deb Barber, Erik Hansen, Ron Case, Manik Dhar, Quinn Kliman