City agencies have opened up the eighth annual Transit Tech Lab competition, which serves as a way for tech suppliers to work with transit officials to improve the operation of the metro area’s subways, buses and trains.
The challenge this year, according to a statement, focuses on infrastructure management, modernizing data and updating workflows for regional public transit agencies.
Companies in the competition — proposals are accepted until Feb. 27 — will have eight weeks to craft a “proof-of-concept” via “collaboration with agency partners,” according to the statement.
Participating agencies include the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, NYC Department of Transportation, and Partnership Fund for New York City.
“Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City, and innovation is essential for building a system that works better for all,” said Stacey Matlen, senior vice president of innovation at the Partnership Fund for New York City, in the statement.
Launched in 2018, the lab has taken in more than 1,000 applications and tested 81 technologies that led to 16 “commercial procurements,” according to the statement. Almost 60 companies have conducted yearlong pilots through those agencies and the lab.
For last year’s competition, finalist companies came from a pool of 112 applications, with 200 public-sector evaluators. Finalist projects included transit pass enrollment, real-time overcrowding alerts, a data consolidation effort and predictive maintenance tools.
For this latest competition, the lab has posed the following general challenge, the first of two: How can public agencies better monitor and manage infrastructure to improve asset performance, resilience, and life cycle cost?
According to the statement, technologies can include:
- Technologies to monitor infrastructure conditions in real time
- Tools to detect leaks, corrosion, voltage instability and utility disruptions
- Systems to inventory, map and monitor fiber and copper cable infrastructure
- Tools to digitally track construction progress in real time
- Tools to detect and analyze safety, compliance and behavioral risks, including speeding and obstructions
- Technologies to manage bridge strikes in real time
Technologies can include:
- Workforce scheduling tools to optimize maintenance staffing while balancing labor costs, overtime and operational needs
- Predictive tools to optimize bus service by analyzing real-time operations and recommending interventions to reduce bunching and service gaps
- Tools to integrate large volumes of video, sensor, operational, financial and mobility data into a unified analytics platform
- Tools to detect and prevent media manipulation and identity fraud
A new mayor has taken office and the man who served as chief technology officer under the previous administration has stepped down. As the city continues its tech efforts on artificial intelligence, digital equity and school safety, the gov tech views and ideas of that new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, remain relatively unclear.
