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 18 companies to collaborate with MTA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the NYC Department of Transportation, NJ TRANSIT and NYC Department of Design and Construction to improve infrastructure management, modernize data and update workflow processes.
This is the program’s eighth annual challenge cycle, and companies were selected for two challenges: the advanced infrastructure challenge and the data and workflow modernization challenge. The winners were selected from 138 applications.
Participating companies, in collaboration with agency partners, will conduct proofs of concept over an eight-week period. More than half will be using artificial intelligence and autonomous technologies to create smarter, more efficient networks and processes. After the eight-week period ends, the agencies may select the most promising technology for longer-term pilot programs.
Selected companies are from the United States and Canada and include Ironloop, a company whose Software platform can catch cybersecurity risks and compliance gaps before they become incidents, and Viatec whose modular battery systems can be retrofitted onto existing work trucks.
Since 2018, 81 companies have tested their technologies and 22 were commercially scaled.