Riders in Atlanta can now hail a May Mobility robotaxi on the Lyft app, marking the first commercial deployment in the two companies’ partnership. The small fleet of autonomous vehicles is Lyft’s latest attempt to carve out a presence in the robotaxi market.
Lyft’s Atlanta launch signals an effort to carve out a piece of the robotaxi market. But it has a lot of catching up to do if it hopes to close the gap with rival Uber. Earlier this year, Bank of America analysts downgraded the stock to “Underperform” from “Buy” due to concerns that the ride-hail firm would lose market share to Waymo’s California expansion and Uber’s aggressive AV partnership strategy.
Analyst sentiment has since brightened after Lyft reported strong second-quarter earnings; launching a robotaxi fleet could help sustain that momentum. That said, the debut is modest.
Lyft and May Mobility are starting their pilot with a small fleet of hybrid-electric Toyota Sienna Autono-MaaS vehicles, limited operating hours, and a human safety operator in the front seat. The companies are also entering a city where Uber and Waymo started offering fully driverless rides in June.
A spokesperson told TechCrunch that Lyft and May plan to expand to “dozens, then hundreds and eventually thousands over time” across multiple markets.
May’s vehicles will be available to Lyft riders ordering on demand or via the “Wait & Save” feature starting in Midtown Atlanta from morning rush hour into the afternoon Monday through Friday, with plans to extend into evenings and weekends soon.
Safety operators who “may take control from time to time,” will be behind the wheel during the first phase of the Atlanta rollout, the spokesperson said.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco
|
October 27-29, 2025
Lyft’s deployment with May Mobility comes a month after the company announced a deal with China’s Baidu to launch robotaxis in Europe next year. Lyft CEO David Risher has also said the company wou …