We launched the Transit Tech Lab to help the MTA evaluate innovative solutions to critical public transportation challenges. After receiving nearly 100 applications, judges chose six companies to take part in an 8-week intensive accelerator with the MTA that wrapped up at the end of April.
Selected companies responded to either a subway or a bus challenge. Here’s an inside look at the results from the collaboration.
Read moreBy Annie McDonough, City & State New York
Earlier this week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a pilot program to improve bus lane enforcement by installing high-tech, forward-facing cameras on city buses for real-time capture of license plate and other information—and automatic ticketing—of cars that drive into dedicated bus lanes. The Automated Bus Lane Enforcement pilot cameras will be installed on 123 new buses on routes in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
By Graham Rapier, Business Insider
The New York Subway has been in a state of emergency for more than a year.
Almost every rush hour, train service is snarled by finicky, 100-year old signals, causing dangerously crowded platforms and angering commuters. Above ground, things aren't much better: you could easily out-walk the average speed of a bus in Gotham.
Some of that might soon change, if the six companies chosen by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for a first-of-its-kind tech accelerator the agency has dubbed the "transit tech lab," are successful at the two challenges set out for them — but it won't be easy.
Over the next eight weeks, the startups will work alongside the MTA to find solutions to overcrowded platforms and ineffective bus lanes. The program's executive director, Rachel Haot, spoke exclusively to Business Insider about the accelerator, and how it could help the agency make up for some of its past technology struggles.
MTA Taking National Lead in Transit Innovation
NEW YORK, February 25, 2019–The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Partnership for New York City today are jointly announcing finalists accepted to the Transit Tech Lab, an accelerator program that will allow tech companies to introduce New York’s transportation agencies to new products designed to improve transit services.
“Through the MTA’s work with the Partnership, we are dedicated to testing and implementing new technologies that will modernize and improve subway and bus service across New York City,” said Pat Foye, MTA President. “The Transit Tech Lab is one example of how the MTA is changing to embrace technology and build a culture of innovation by working with companies that are pioneers in mobility.”
Este sistema de cámaras es capaz de reconocer, de inmediato, la edad y el género de las personas. El aparato también detecta el rostro y la identidad.
By Natalia Quintero, Director, Transit Tech Lab
I’m thrilled to share that I have joined the Transit Tech Lab as founding director!
For years I have followed work at the intersection of technology and government. When I learned about the lab I knew it was a special opportunity to take on a big challenge and take a shot at transforming transit in New York City.
Accelerator program seeks companies to develop technology-based solutions for city’s bus and subway woes
By Mengqi Sun, Wall Street Journal
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking for companies that could help the agency improve New York City’s bus and subway service.
‘A dire need’ for new products to fix subway delays and move buses through congested streets
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New York’s subways and buses are in crisis. As it copes with cascading delays, traffic congestion, and declines in ridership, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is seeking salvation from an unlikely source: the tech sector. On Wednesday, the MTA announced the creation of “the nation’s first Transit Tech Lab,” an accelerator designed to vet new high-tech products designed to help improve the nation’s largest public transit system.
A Digital Sandbox To Build New Transit Solutions
Learn More at transitinnovation.org; Apply by November 30, 2018
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's executive leadership team and the city’s business community, represented by the Partnership for New York City, today announced the launch of the nation’s first Transit Tech Lab. The Lab’s purpose is to identify and test promising new technology and other products that will accelerate modernization of New York’s public transportation network and contribute to improved services and a better customer experience.
© 2020 Partnership for New York City and Metropolitan Transportation Authority