Applications open for Transit Tech Lab’s Operational Efficiency and Human Capital challenges with MTA, Port Authority, NJ TRANSIT and NYC DOT 

Today the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NJ TRANSIT, NYC Department of Transportation and the Partnership for New York City launched the fifth iteration of the Transit Tech Lab’s annual competition, calling for tech-driven approaches to support the agencies’ objectives in operational efficiency and human capital utilization.  

Applications for the Operational Efficiency Challenge and Utilization of Human Capital Challenge are due March 2 and are accessible at: transitinnovation.org/lab.  

Representatives from each participating agency will evaluate startups based on the technology’s impact and the applicant’s product, team, and overall value proposition. Finalists will move forward to conduct a proof-of-concept over an eight-week period; the companies with the most compelling technologies that advance the agencies’ goals can win a yearlong pilot. In the past few years 23 companies have been selected to participate in yearlong pilots, conducting deeper tests to demonstrate the value of their technology to agency partners.

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Solutions Aim to Reduce Subway Running Times and Improve Reliability

Today, the Transit Tech Lab announced that four companies were selected as finalists in its Signaling Challenge, a global competition calling for technologies that will help modernize New York City’s aging subway signaling system quickly and cost-effectively. The challenge seeks to increase subway capacity, efficiency and reliability by enabling trains to run closer together. The four finalists, selected from nearly 60 applications, are testing solutions that utilize emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, LiDAR and communication-based train control (CBTC) across the New York City Transit subway system. 

The Transit Tech Lab is part of the Transit Innovation Partnership, a public-private initiative created by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Partnership for New York City.

Modernizing New York City’s aging signaling system will enable the MTA to run more trains, improving the customer experience for millions of people traveling within the five boroughs. The selected companies began tests in January 2022 and will present proof-of-concept results by the end of the summer.

The Signaling Challenge finalists are:

Company: 4AI Systems (New York, NY)
Technology: Using on-train artificial intelligence system to detect infrastructure, obstacles and wayside objects. The technology supports train operators in identifying obstructions, track intrusion, and equipment in need of repair.

Company: Alstom (West Henrietta, NY)
Technology: Using Urbalis, their latest technology, to enable faster communication between trains and bi-directional train movement. The product has a simplified, train-to-train architecture that eliminates the need of wayside equipment, reduces installation times, improves operational headway and speed, and lowers life cycle costs.

Company: Luminar (Orlando, FL)
Technology: Using long-range LiDAR technology coupled with perception software from their partner, Seoul Robotics, to accurately position a train underground, including areas where GPS traditionally fails. The product provides accurate arrival and departure data and can be further trained to detect hazards and structural damage on the tracks.

Company: Ouster (San Francisco, CA) in partnership with Lux Modus (Calgary, Canada)
Technology: Using digital LiDAR sensors to collect millions of high-resolution 3D geospatial data points on a Track Geometry Car. The technology provides a digital twin and detects structural damage, infrastructure decay and foreign objects on the tracks.

NYC Transit President Richard Davey said, “Increasing reliability is paramount to improving the customer experience and bringing more people back to the subway. This diverse group of pilot programs provides a variety of solutions towards achieving this goal, and we look forward to seeing the results.”

Natalia Quintero, Senior Vice President of Innovation at the Partnership for New York City said, “New York’s transit system is in the midst of tremendous transformation, and we are delighted to be helping accelerate the pace of positive change. With visionary leadership at the helm of the MTA and cutting-edge technology, New York City is well positioned to build the transit system New Yorkers deserve.”

About the Transit Tech Lab

The Tech Lab program is part of the Transit Innovation Partnership, which yielded the award-winning MTA Live Subway Map and was established by the MTA and the Partnership for New York City to bring private sector innovation to improve public transit. 

Since 2018, the program has put the New York metropolitan region at the forefront of transit innovation, which promises to support the modernization of public transit and to transform the customer experience. Winners of previous competitions include Remix, a collaborative digital platform used to redesign the bus routes, and Axon Vibe, which built the Essential Connector smartphone app to help essential workers plan journeys during overnight subway disinfection closures. 

Today, the Transit Tech Lab announced ten finalists for the COVID-19 Recovery and Environmental Sustainability challenges, a global competition calling for technologies to improve public transit safety and meet clean energy objectives. Selected from nearly 150 applicants, the ten finalists’ solutions will use emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision and LiDAR to improve the public transportation experience for millions of people in the tri-state area.

The companies chosen will test their solutions over an 8-week period with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and NJ TRANSIT.

The first COVID-19 Response Challenge was launched by the MTA and Transit Innovation Partnership in 2020 and led to eight productive collaborations with the MTA, the Port Authority and NJ TRANSIT. The call for applications for this year’s COVID-19 Recovery and Environmental Sustainability challenges launched in January 2022, with the goal of ensuring customers and employees feel safe, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making transit more responsive to the needs of New Yorkers.  

The 2022 COVID-19 Recovery finalists are:

Company: Blyncsy (Salt Lake City, UT)
Technology: Catalogues roadway infrastructure and conditions, including pavement markings, obstacles, and roadway deterioration to facilitate maintenance. 
Primary Partner Agency: PANYNJ, NJT

Company: Clarifai (New York, NY)
Technology: Uses machine learning and computer vision software to identify track intrusions, unsafe behavior in stations, and passenger flows.
Primary Partner Agency: PANYNJ, NYCT

Company: Invision AI, Inc. (Toronto, Canada)
Technology: Uses existing cameras and AI vision systems to create real-time 3D digital twin of transit stations.
Primary Partner Agency: NJT

Company: Quanergy (Sunnyvale, CA)
Technology: Uses LiDAR hardware paired with analytic software to provide a digital twin of any space. The digital twin can report unsafe behavior, offers object detection and passenger flows.
Primary Partner Agency: NYCT, MNR 

Company: Zensors Inc. (San Fransisco, CA)
Technology: Uses artificial intelligence to capture actionable data from existing hardware and cameras to provide operations visibility and address problems that range from overcrowding to fare evasion.
Primary Partner Agency: NYCT, MNR

The Environmental Sustainability finalists are:

Company: Gridmatrix (San Francisco, CA)
Technology: Uses software to interpret video footage on roads, enabling agencies to understand traffic patterns, unsafe intersections, and emissions.
Primary Partner Agency: PANYNJ

Company: Microgrid Labs Inc. (Boulder, CO)
Technology: Enables planning for a fast, smooth and cost-effective transition to electric fleets through SaaS-based modeling, simulation, and optimization software, EVOPT.
Primary Partner Agency: NJT 

Company: Runwise Inc. (New York, NY)
Technology: Uses wireless technology and web based software to operate heating and water systems more efficiently and help cut utility costs. 
Primary Partner Agency: PANYNJ, MNR 

Company: StormSensor (Seattle, WA)
Technology: Provides cost-effective stormwater/climate-data and analytics to prevent flooding, simplify monitoring, and streamline maintenance and response.
Primary Partner Agency: PANYNJ, MNR, NJT 

Company: The Mobility House (Belmont, California)
Technology: Enables intelligent integration of electric vehicles with the grid while minimizing charging costs.
Primary Partner Agency: NYCT 

Natalia Quintero, Senior Vice President of Innovation at the Partnership for New York City, said, “Public transit is the backbone of the tri-state economy, and its efficacy, safety and resilience are of paramount importance. The Transit Tech Lab is committed to providing cutting edge tools to restore riders’ confidence and support a sustainable future. Previous winners have deployed tools that improve service and the customer experience. We look forward to seeing the results of this year’s program.”

Michael Wojnar, Senior Advisor for Innovation and Policy at the MTA, said, “Partnering with the Transit Tech Lab finalists gives the MTA the opportunity to evaluate innovative approaches to MTA’s top priorities and challenges as laid out by the Chair earlier this year. Limiting track intrusion, increasing safety in stations, building more resilient infrastructure, and improving the efficiency of electric vehicle charging will be important issues for the MTA in 2022 and for years to come. We are excited to see what these firms have to offer, and we thank the Transit Tech Lab for introducing them to us.”

Robert Galvin, Chief Technology Officer at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said, “We are thrilled to once again be partnering with Transit Tech Lab to test out innovative and sustainable technology across our facilities. As the first transportation agency to embrace the 2018 Paris Climate agreement and the first to commit to net zero emissions by 2050, we are eager to work with these finalists to pilot new technologies that will not only enhance travel for our customers, but will help to modernize our infrastructure processes and contribute to our overall environmental goals.” 

Lookman Fazal, Chief of Information & Digital Technology at NJ TRANSIT, said, “NJ TRANSIT is proud of our continued partnership with the Transit Tech Lab and we are excited to work with these finalist teams to harness innovations and cutting-edge technologies from the private sector. We are always looking to leverage the newest technologies to improve safety, service and the customer experience.”  

About the Transit Tech Lab

The Tech Lab program is part of the Transit Innovation Partnership, which yielded the award-winning MTA Live Subway Map and was established by the MTA and the Partnership for New York City to bring private sector innovation to improve public transit. 

Since 2018, the program has put the New York metropolitan region at the forefront of transit innovation, which promises to support the modernization of public transit and to transform the customer experience. Winners of previous competitions include Remix, a collaborative digital platform used to redesign the bus routes, and Axon Vibe, which built the Essential Connector smartphone app to help essential workers plan journeys during overnight subway disinfection closures.