Biz Briefs: May Mobility Launches Transit Service, Littlepay Accepts American Express, and More

May Mobility, Littlepay, and Prevost are the latest companies to make announcements in the transit industry.

May Mobility Brings AV Public Transit to Retirement Community

May Mobility announced the launch of the first on-demand public transit service using AVs in Arizona with its launch in the retirement community of Sun City.

The service will be powered by Via, according to May Mobility's news release.

The goal of the deployment is to use AVs to expand access to equitable on-demand transportation to Sun City, a community designed for adults 55 and older.

The company also aims to understand how its technology is adopted and addresses mobility challenges faced by aging adults.

This launch marks May Mobility’s first deployment in the Western U.S. and underscores Arizona’s reputation as a testing ground and pioneer for AV technologies. Previous deployments span from the Northeast to the Midwest to the South, in climates ranging from the humid, subtropical climate in Arlington, Texas to the frigid winters in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Littlepay Offers American Express

Littlepay announced that American Express is now integrated on its global transit payments platform.

More than 250 transit operators that use Littlepay will be able to start accepting American Express.

“Connecting the Littlepay platform to American Express is an important step towards our goal of offering payment choice to public transport riders," said Paul Griffin, global head of commerce at Littlepay. "Those who always reach for their American Express Card when they tap to pay in retail will be able to do the same when they tap to ride on transit.”

Prevost Partner Receives First H3-45

Village Travel was the first tour operator in the U.S. to take delivery of an updated Prevost H3-45.

“We’ve owned several H3-45s since 1997. We heard the new H3-45 was coming and placed an order in advance because we’re confident when Prevost makes changes they’re going to be positive,” said Jeff Arensdorf, owner of Village Travel.

Village Travel has seven locations, more than 160 coaches, and 449 employees.

Led by Arensdorf, the company serves the charter, group tour, and entertainer markets and also operates a full-line travel agency. In 2022, with offices throughout the Midwest,

Village recorded 9.2 million miles driven, 10,805 charter groups served and 6,295 tour passengers hosted.

In the coming months, Village is scheduled to receive 11 more of the next-generation H3-45s to add to its fleet.