The Transit Tech Lab, a public-private initiative created by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Partnership Fund for New York City to accelerate innovation in public transportation, recently selected 12 companies for the program’s seventh annual challenge cycle.
This year’s challenges focused on ridership improvement, and inspection and maintenance. Challenges focus on technologies designed to optimize transit schedules, communications, inspections and maintenance.
The Ridership Improvement Challenge focuses on how agencies can accurately measure, capture, and improve paid ridership and travel demand data with the goal of optimizing transit schedules and communicating effectively.
The Inspection & Maintenance Challenge focuses on how agencies can digitize manual inspections and optimize maintenance processes.
Finalists will collaborate with the MTA, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and NYC Department of Transportation on projects and will conduct a test of their technology over an eight-week period in collaboration with one or more of the participating agencies.
Transit Tech Lab received 112 applications. Selection of the finalists was conducted in collaboration with more than 200 public sector evaluators.
In their applications, applicants were required to propose tech-driven approaches that support the agencies’ objectives. Companies with promising solutions were invited to pitch in-person and attended expo-style demo days.