Since 2018, the Transit Tech Lab has been a catalyst in helping New York metro-area transit agencies explore and test new technologies to solve pressing transit challenges. Each year, we work with some of the region’s largest public transit agencies to identify pressing challenges and potential solutions to improve agency operations and deliver best-in-class service to riders.

This year, in partnership with the MTA, NJ TRANSIT, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the NYC Department of Transportation, the Transit Tech Lab challenges solicited solutions to improve operational efficiency and human capital resources.

In March 2023, over 120 public and private-sector evaluators reviewed applications, pitches, and technology demonstrations by nearly 150 companies from around the world. After a competitive selection process, the four participating transit agencies selected 15 companies to conduct a minimally viable test via an eight-week proof of concept.

After closing out our largest Transit Tech Lab cohort to date, we are excited to share the following report, which details each company’s solution, how it was used, and its potential for future impact. As in past years, a subset of companies will be selected to participate in a yearlong pilot to implement their technologies in an expanded use case.

We look forward to announcing these pilot winners in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Read the full report below.

Jonny Simkin, CEO of 2023 finalist Swiftly, said, “We absolutely loved the Transit Tech Lab program and found tremendous value from it. It helped illuminate some of the biggest challenges facing transit agencies today and facilitated ways for us to meaningfully engage some of the largest agencies in the country and help address those challenges with our innovative solutions.”

“Throughout the Lab, we understood our limits and shifted to observer status for some of the other POCs. The other transit agencies graciously allowed us to observe, so that we could build our understanding of these products, without having to commit our scarce resources to deploying an additional POC,” said an MTA project manager.

Subscribe to get updates from the Transit Tech Lab.

Operational Efficiency and Human Capital Challenge Finalists Present Proofs-of-Concept Results was originally published in Partnership for New York City on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Last month, we shared the SXSW stage with Transit Tech Lab alum Dan Getelman, co-founder of Remix (acquired by Via in 2021). Remix’s platform helps planners redesign streets and transit to ensure populations are served efficiently and equitably.

After a successful pilot, the MTA estimates that Remix saved the agency millions in costs and 130 miles of non-revenue service per day. The bus network redesign process was also 71% faster than the previous paper-based method. When the MTA began nightly subway closures during the early months of COVID-19, Remix leveraged hundreds of data sets to ensure efficient bus transportation for essential workers. We spoke to the team at Remix to learn more.

“The Transit Tech Lab was an incredible opportunity. We‘d been trying to sell to the MTA for years, and the Lab accelerated that process.”

What does Remix do?

Remix was started in 2014 after its co-founders participated in a Code for America project to help government agencies better plan and innovate using technology. The product suite included a planning platform and scheduling software for transit agencies to help them visualize data that drives insights and better decision-making on planning city transit systems.

City agencies usually have access to tons of data. Still, it is difficult to do anything meaningful with that data if you can’t quickly get to the bottom line or determine the impact of what you’re trying to accomplish.

In 2021 Remix was acquired by Via and now is part of a broader platform that helps cities plan, operate, and optimize their transit networks by partnering with city agencies to create an end-to-end software solution that can fully support their transportation communities.

Remix was a participant in the inaugural 2019 Transit Tech Lab. What problem were you solving for the MTA?

We responded to the Lab’s Bus Challenge, which asked for solutions to help make city buses faster and more efficient. And that’s exactly what our software was designed to do. It takes an existing transit system and overlays information on how and when people travel to make those systems work better for the agencies and the communities that rely on that service.

At the time, the MTA was planning a borough-by-borough redesign of their bus system, and Remix was selected to help aid the bus redesign for the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Express Bus Service in Staten Island. So, the main goals for the pilot were to train the MTA and New York City Transit on using the software, come up with two to three different network designs for the selected boroughs, and then take those options to the public for voting and feedback.

Traditionally, that kind of redesign was done manually by printing out maps and drawing out route changes and detours by hand. Remix expedites that process by making it digital and ingesting existing data such as standard transit routes and schedules plus census, demographic or other forms of relevant data to modify or add new lines and run analysis.

Our software enabled the MTA to make a before and after comparison between the current system versus the new design to see how those changes would look on the ground: which routes are traveled the most and which ones are running slow? How many drivers are needed? What would it cost to make changes to the existing design? We take all these layers of information and put them into action by showing the potential impact of those changes in real-time, such as changes in a rider’s travel time: how far could a rider travel in 15, 30, or 60 minutes? The MTA now had all this meaningful information at its fingertips to inform its decision-making and see the value before investing in large-scale changes.

And when it was time to take those changes to the public, the MTA could easily show riders how these changes would improve their commutes.

At the end of the Transit Tech Lab, Remix was selected for a yearlong pilot with the MTA. What were the outcomes of that pilot?

After using Remix, the MTA said it was able to plan and design a bus network over 70% faster when compared to its existing process. We demonstrated that our product not only increased the efficiency of the bus service but also increased MTA’s productivity as a team — as our software enabled MTA bus planners to iterate quickly, make data-informed decisions, and quickly compare various scenarios and their costs.

The technology also became very ­useful in the MTA’s COVID-19 response. We built custom data layers for the MTA to quickly get information to inform changes to their system and meet the needs of essential workers and others who relied on public transportation to reach essential services — hospitals, doctors’ appointments, and grocery stores.

Quick decisions were needed to help inform which bus services to cut, keep, or modify to fit the schedules of essential workers. Remix helped the MTA quickly gather data, run iterations of those scenarios, and collaborate internally with their partners to make changes.

This particular use case further amplified the practical benefit of what we’d built. The analog way of making critical service changes on a system of this scale didn’t lend itself to a pandemic situation, which was changing from week to week. So having a core platform that could support that rate of change made a hard job much easier at a very stressful time. That’s something that we’re incredibly proud of.

What have been some of the benefits post-program?

The Transit Tech Lab was an incredible opportunity. We‘d been trying to sell to the MTA for years, and the Lab accelerated that process. Transit tech is still a new idea to some, and it’s an area where technology companies can struggle to get in the door at public agencies. And while some agencies realize they have technology needs, there’s still a learning curve around deciding what exactly is needed, which means it can take years before a company has its first conversation or demo with an agency.

Through the Lab, the MTA got the chance to test our software to see its value without committing to a long-term deal. We had an opportunity to demonstrate our value, which led to a commercial procurement with the MTA. It was a win-win for both sides.

Also, having the MTA as one of our customers further drove our credibility and visibility in the market. And with over half of American transit trips coming from New York, having our product behind the largest transit agency in the world was a powerful use case. I think it also made us attractive to Via, which acquired Remix in 2021.

What advice do you have for future Transit Tech Lab cohorts, and how can companies get the most out of their time in the Lab?

I would advise participating companies to really get to know the agency they’re working with and fully understand the problem before offering solutions.

Also, continue to stay customer-centric. Spend as much time face-to-face as possible, but also think outside the box and be responsive to the customer's needs. That’s something we’ve done well. That willingness to adapt led to us expanding an aspect of our product offering specifically for the MTA. It has since become one of the most popular features among our customers.

That outcome further proved that public-private partnerships can be effective instead of trying to solve problems in a vacuum. If everyone has the same goal in mind, these partnerships can generate positive change for our communities. In our case, working alongside the MTA to deliver more efficient bus service proves that this model works. And with more public-sector dollars earmarked for public transportation, including NYSERDA funding, which we received during our pilot, there’s a tremendous opportunity for technology companies in this space to leverage what the Transit Tech Lab has created to fast-track meaningful solutions to transportation challenges.

Keep up with the Transit Tech Lab. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter or subscribe here!

Platform safety is critical to building a better transit experience for millions of riders. In 2019, the Transit Tech Lab sought applications from companies to better predict subway incident impacts and serve customers. Through that search, transportation technology company Veovo demonstrated its ability to use its passenger flow software — often used in airports — to predict crowding conditions in subway stations and platforms.

The MTA selected Veovo for a yearlong pilot to test its solution at the 14th Street Union Square subway station. Veovo’s sensors would count the number of passengers using the station, provide data on crowding conditions and measure how long it takes customers to pass from the turnstile to the platform — calculations that were previously performed manually.

We spoke with Patrick Salemme, Strategic Account Director for North America at Veovo to talk more about the Transit Tech Lab, the potential use cases for crowd flow data and advice for technology companies looking to tackle government procurement.

Veovo was selected for the 2019 Transit Tech Lab Subway & Bus Challenge. Tell us what Veovo does and what problem you solve for transit agencies.

Veovo is a transportation technology company. We mainly focus on airports where we provide operational software and people flow software. For example, if you go to an airport and you can see that it will take 15 minutes to get through TSA, that is the type of insights our software can generate.

Outside of aviation, we also have a significant and growing presence in mass transit. Broadly speaking, we provide tools that help transit agencies achieve higher operational efficiency and deliver a better passenger experience.

We use different sensor technologies to help transit agencies understand how passengers move through their stations in real-time, including on stairways, at the fare array, and on the platform. This data can then be used for tactical responses to conditions on the ground and longer term, more strategic operational planning and even capital planning.

Why did you decide to apply to the Transit Tech Lab?

Well, we love New York! Veovo has been a partner with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey since the late 2000s. But when the Transit Tech Lab launched its Subway Challenge and started looking for technologies that help predict subway incidents and improve customer experience, we knew that was right in our wheelhouse.

We understand the traveler journey well, so applying the technology that we had mastered in the aviation space and bringing it to the largest transit system in the world seemed like a slam dunk to us.

We also appreciated the Lab’s interest in engaging a targeted pool of innovative companies trying to disrupt transportation for the better.

Can you share key benefits the MTA realized after deploying your technology?

Initially, Veovo deployed its technology to gain insight into platform occupancy at the MTA’s Court Square and Union Square stations. The MTA asked us to help analyze if and when subway platforms were becoming dangerously overcrowded.

If the MTA had better visibility into when peak crowding events occur, then they could deploy crowd control strategies to help alleviate the rush, maintain safety, and proactively reduce potentially unsafe underground conditions.

Without the right technology, gauging passenger flow relies heavily on human attention and discretion — usually a pair of eyes physically monitoring CCTV feeds. In New York City subways, pillars and other obstructions can make monitoring platform occupancy even more challenging for the human eye.

The alternative we offer uses a combination of optical sensors and trackers that pick up latent Bluetooth signals from devices to give insights into how many people are on the platform at a given time for how long. We automate that information and provide historical data that allows an agency to analyze how riders experience transit.

What other use cases did you discover for the data Veovo was collecting?

Since our pilot ran parallel with the pandemic, ridership nearly halted in 2020. As the platform crowding use case receded into the background, we started exploring other uses for the sensors we’d already deployed with the MTA.

One use case was from a capital planning standpoint. We provided insights on stairway congestion to aid in planning for future stations by helping the MTA understand foot traffic and whether a station stairway will meet the performance criteria to ensure that it’s a safe experience for people exiting and entering the station.

We also discovered that the sensors at station platforms detected passengers’ devices on individual trains and that we could offer visibility into how full the trains are as they enter and leave the station.

Additionally, by comparing the fair payment system data with the visibility we have at fare thresholds, Veovo can identify fare evasion trends — when and where it’s happening. That kind of analysis can give the MTA a baseline understanding to allow the agency to test the effectiveness of different fare evasion mitigation strategies.

What have been some positive outcomes for your business after participating in the Lab?

Participating in the Transit Tech Lab has definitely opened some doors for us in the transit space. New York has one of the world’s oldest, largest, and most ridden subway system. As a technology company that is primarily known for its work in the aviation space, working with the MTA gives us an incredible amount of credibility as we talk to other transit operators globally — a lot of the conversations that we’re having now as we try to build our mass transit business would not be possible if we didn’t have such a great use case from the MTA and Transit Tech Lab.

What advice would you give to an entrepreneur interested in applying to the Lab?

Programs like the Transit Tech Lab are valuable because they allow younger, smaller companies to get exposure to their target customers with guidance along the way. Government contracting and procurement can be very complex processes and bring with them a lot of requirements that can be challenging for a small company to handle. So, my recommendation is, if you think your company has a great solution for public transit, go for it! The Transit Tech Lab is looking for innovative ideas and is willing to bet on new-to-market solutions. It’s a great opportunity for smaller tech companies to explore procurement opportunities with hands-on support from the team at the Lab.

What is your biggest lesson learned through your experience participating in the Transit Tech Lab?

Patience is key. The Transit Tech Lab does a great job of getting solutions into play quickly. However, there may still be some runway to scale from that proof of concept to something with a larger footprint. That’s certainly been the case with Veovo.

It’s important to remember that being selected to participate in the Lab means that you are handpicked to help solve important issues, but the reality is there can be a lot of important issues at any given moment in a transit agency, and you may have to wait your turn.

However, once you’ve connected with that transit agency, use your access to talk to as many people as possible. Try to understand better what the client’s challenges and aspirations are, how they view technology and what that means for the future of the agency.

Some companies may say, “Hey, here’s my technology. It’s running great.” And only come back when it’s time to renew a contract, but that’s not the best way for a client to get the most value out of your solution, nor is it the best way for you as a company to grow and continue to build a set of capabilities that is going to, by necessity, evolve over time.

As an innovator, you never know what interesting things may happen after you deploy a project. We at Veovo certainly couldn’t have predicted all the exciting outcomes and learnings that have come from our pilot, and we are even more excited about the future possibilities.

Keep up with the Transit Tech Lab. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter or subscribe here!

In 2021, Transit Tech Lab alumni Knaq, a 2020 Accessibility Challenge Pilot winner, was awarded a $4.5 million contract to install its predictive maintenance solution at five Port Authority facilities. After hearing about the new technology, a senior PATH engineer at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, realized that the device could also help monitor and maintain some of the agency’s legacy equipment.

With the support of the Port Authority, Marco Gonzalez tested Knaq on the bistate commuter railroad’s HVAC and air compressor systems to help streamline maintenance and prevent service interruptions. Within the first week, a potential outage was detected — and avoided — thereby saving time, reducing costs, and improving customer service.

We spoke to Marco about how Knaq has helped his team, the future of technology adoption at transit agencies, and his advice for others looking to use technology to solve transit challenges.

“Simple, non-invasive solutions can go a long way in the public sector…Our success with Knaq has helped us realize that implementing new technology doesn’t have to be a large-scale, costly buildout.”

Tell us about your role at the Port Authority and how you learned about Knaq.

I’ve spent almost eight years in rail transit and have been with the Port Authority for nearly four and a half years, specifically at PATH as an engineer.

In my role, I look for ways to improve the reliability of our system, which includes eliminating or reducing equipment outages with minimal impact to our customers or operations.

Last year, I heard some of the Port Authority’s elevators and escalators were being retrofitted with a new device to capture real-time maintenance data. I became curious about how this technology could be applied more widely.

Knaq is a 2020 graduate of the Transit Tech Lab’s Curb & Accessibility Challenge. Can you tell us what Knaq does and how you identified the opportunity to scale Knaq’s technology to an additional use case?

Knaq provides predictive maintenance monitoring for customer-facing equipment and other mechanical assets. I was encouraged to hear that the Port Authority installed Knaq’s technology across five facilities to improve elevator and escalator reliability, so I began investigating if this technology could also work on other types of electrical equipment.

After learning the technology monitors electrical signals — which are consistent across various types of equipment — I recognized the technology could also be used to monitor legacy equipment, such as HVAC units and air compressors. When these types of assets fail, they can also result in service delays for customers and lost fare revenue. If we could use Knaq to identify problem areas in a legacy system, we could prevent outages and redirect staff time and resources to other system needs. I quickly realized that Knaq’s technology could be a game changer for us.

What have been some key benefits for the Port Authority after using and scaling Knaq’s technology?

We’ve been running Knaq sensors for several months, and just in the first month of use, the sensor alerted us to a temperature spike, which indicated that a piece of equipment was about to fail. So far, we’ve avoided two equipment failures without impacting service or our customers.

With this targeted approach to predictive maintenance, we’ve also been able to optimize our workforce to improve staff allocation of resources. For example, we previously would dispatch a person to check HVAC units once a day before we installed Knaq. Now, those daily inspections are no longer necessary; our staff can focus on other critical assets that need more urgent attention. That has been a tremendous advantage for our team.

What impact do you think your experience will have on the future of technology adoption in transit agencies?

Our experience testing Knaq has sparked a new culture of innovation at PATH. Now I have people from all over the Port Authority asking if they can install Knaq for their equipment. It’s been a great success because it’s made their work easier and allows them to do their jobs more efficiently.

Our success with Knaq has helped us as an agency realize that implementing new technology doesn’t have to be a large-scale, costly buildout. It’s not always necessary to adopt an extensive building management or SCADA system, which can take time to procure, design, and implement.

Simple, non-invasive solutions can go a long way in the public sector. With a device like Knaq, you can incorporate a web-based solution already on the market at minimal cost. You can install the device with minimal downtime, clip in a few wires, and be in business. That aspect is what sold our team at PATH on the idea. Everyone involved, me included, tended to avoid solutions that require complex installations due to the potentiality of failure.

And as far as the technology itself, this level of data and insight will help transit agencies move up the reliability pyramid for maintenance from preventative to predictive.

There is room in the transit industry for more innovative ideas that are easy to implement, as well as for teams that are ready to apply tech solutions that can help their agencies run more efficiently. I encourage other transit leaders and their employees to be open-minded about embracing innovation and keep an eye out for new technologies that can be leveraged in new ways.

Keep up with the Transit Tech Lab. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter or subscribe here!

Transit Tech Lab: How one Port Authority Employee Took Tech at PATH to New Heights was originally published in Partnership for New York City on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

As we gear up for the year ahead, we are excited to share a brief look back on a successful year of collaboration with our partners and the innovative tech companies helping shape the future of public transport.

We have also launched our latest transit innovation challenges around improving operational efficiencies and human capital resources. Applications are open until March 2 — apply here!

2022 Recap

In 2022, the Transit Tech Lab launched two new challenges focused on sustainability and recovery, continued to advance its Signaling Challenge, and introduced a new Executive-in-Residence program to offer additional guidance to cohort participants. As a result, our transit agency partners — the MTA, The Port Authority of NY & NJ, NJ TRANSIT, and NYC DOT — have leveraged new tools to improve operations and better respond to changing post-pandemic needs. The five major program achievements in 2022 include:

Ten 2022 Challenge Proof of Concepts Completed

• In January 2022, the Transit Tech Lab introduced the Sustainability and Recovery Challenge, drawing nearly 150 online submissions. These applicants demonstrated how new technologies can meet environmental sustainability objectives and restore confidence in public transit.
• 45 public and private sector evaluators selected ten of the most promising companies to test technologies during an eight-week proof of concept. Companies successfully presented findings, including Stormsensor, a storm water analytics company helping agencies reduce asset damage caused by extreme weather events.

Stormsensor installed six sensors across Port Authority, MTA and NJ TRANSIT facilities, capturing one critical flooding event from 314 hours of active water flow.

Six 2022 Challenge Pilots Launched

38 public sector employees selected six pilot winners to further test and demonstrate how their technologies could support resiliency and sustainability goals across the system, including Runwise, a New York based company optimizing heating in buildings. (Featured in Crain’s New York Business)

Runwise has installed sensors across twelve Port Authority and MTA buildings which will result in an estimated 10–15% reduction in fuel consumption.

Four Signaling Challenge Proof of Concepts Completed

Beginning in January 2022, four companies, selected from nearly 60 applications, demonstrated how technologies such as artificial intelligence, LiDAR and communication-based train control (CBTC), can increase subway capacity, efficiency and reliability by enabling trains to run closer together. (Featured in Crain’s New York Business)

4AI Systems (left) installed their Sensorbar, an on-train artificial intelligence system which captured 5000 miles of footage along the Canarise Line, demonstrated detection of objects up to 1600 feet away which can improve reliability and safety through early track intrusion detection

Ouster and Lux Modus (right), a digital LiDAR company and a LiDAR analytics company, captured 25,000 images and created a 3D twin of track infrastructure between Coney Island Yard and 4th Avenue Station. The companies demonstrated how their solution could automate track maintenance by tracking and measuring defects in infrastructure over time.

One Commercial Procurement Awarded

Preteckt, a 2019 Bus Challenge pilot winner, was awarded a $962,640 contract to deploy their predictive maintenance technology across 1500 buses, a quarter of the MTA’s New York City Transit bus fleet. (Gothamist feature)

Acting Deputy Vice President, Central Maintenance Facilities, Jesse Seder, presents Preteckt pilot achievements and plans for expansion during the November MTA Board Meeting.

Executive in Residence Program Launched

In November, we launched an Executive in Residence (EIR) program, featuring former MTA executives, Sally Librera and Ronnie Hakim. The EIRs will work with Lab participants to provide personalized consultation to ensure companies’ solutions provide value and address the needs of agencies and riders. We look forward to continuing this program in 2023 and beyond.

We are grateful for the incredible transit agency partners and dedicated public servants who championed innovation and worked tirelessly to ensure transit services continue to improve and serve resident needs. We look forward to continuing this work in 2023.

Keep up with the Transit Tech Lab in 2023

As we run with full steam ahead in 2023, help spread the word with four ongoing and upcoming opportunities:

1. Nominate a company for our 2023 Challenges. Know of a company who can help improve operational efficiency or talent management for NYC regional transit agencies? Nominate them with this form, or encourage them to apply directly here. Applications are due March 2!
2. Attend an info session. Join us on January 19 for a virtual information session to learn more about applying to the 2023 Transit Tech Lab. Growth-stage companies looking to partner with public transit to help improve operational efficiencies and talent management are encouraged to apply. Another info session will be held on February 15.
3. Read our Spotlight Alumni Series. To highlight alumni success stories, we initiated a spotlight series on our Medium page, featuring exclusive interviews and content from our alumni. Check out our spotlights from alumni, AllVision and Axon Vibe.
4. Find us at SXSW. In March, we’re heading to SXSW in Austin with the MTA and two alumni representatives to demonstrate how the MTA and other NYC regional agencies are pioneering innovation in the public sector, utilizing the Transit Tech Lab model to quickly test new technologies that solve pressing public transit challenges. Follow us here.

In the spring of 2020, the Transit Tech Lab completed its second annual transit innovation program. Through the pandemic, eight companies worked closely with transit agencies across New York and New Jersey to present solutions to improve accessibility or traffic congestion for millions of commuters.

Allvision was selected to help inventory curb infrastructure and monitor the street parking behavior of both commercial and noncommercial vehicles. In partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), Allvision defined a scope of work and framework which will enable the agency to digitally manage, monitor and analyze activity on select curbs and streets in New York City.

We spoke with Allvision CEO Aaron Morris to discuss his experience in the Transit Tech Lab, working with the NYCDOT and the potential use cases for geospatial data in New York City.

Allvision is a 2020 graduate of the Transit Tech Lab’s Curb & Accessibility Challenge. Tell us about what your company does and its role in smart urban mobility.

Allvision creates high-definition digital maps to help cities and government agencies plan and optimize the use of street, parking, and curb spaces. What we do is a fundamental layer in digital mapping: we take LIDAR sensor data and translate it into maps to create an analysis of urban infrastructure. We gather data from our mapping partners and use our processing model to inventory assets at the curb — such as telephone poles, streetlights and parking meters — to help inform efficient planning and routing around curb spaces.

Digital maps like Google Street View have changed how people navigate the world, and Allvision is the next step in that transformation to smart city applications. To do that effectively, we need higher resolution maps of the roads, sidewalks and infrastructure, and we’re able to provide precise visual insight into what’s happening at the curb. This digital inventory makes Allvision an asset for transit agencies who want to analyze and improve how the curb is being used.

The curb is very limited real estate that is in constant demand — you can’t make more of it. From parking and restaurant sidewalk seating to micro-mobility, including scooters, bikes, and ridesharing, it comes down to cities managing curb spaces better and using available data to inform future planning, increase flexibility and promote faster decision-making.

Why did you decide to apply to the Transit Tech Lab?

We were invited to apply, and when we thought about the program, we figured, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. Allvision is based in Pittsburgh and working with New York City was attractive from a scale perspective. We’d been building out platforms and working with the cities of Pittsburgh, Eugene and Grand Rapids, which are good mid-size cities. But to really test a platform at scale, there’s no better place than New York to validate your work.

For a company at the size and stage we are, getting to the NYCDOT just by knocking on doors would have been extremely difficult. We recognized that participating in the Transit Tech Lab would put us in front of every major New York transit agency in town, and that opportunity was extremely important to us.

We were also drawn to New York from an innovation and operations perspective. Many other cities look at New York as an example of what they should be doing. So, having a presence in New York and being able to say that we’re working with the city and highlight the things we’re doing has been incredibly valuable to us. Since completing the Lab, we’ve partnered with Esri, a leader in geographic information system software, and now offer our AIGIS asset mapping solution on the Esri marketplace.

During the Lab, you were selected to work with the New York Department of Transportation (NYCDOT). What problem did you help the agency solve?

Allvision was selected for the Curb Coordination challenge, which sought solutions to help to reduce traffic on New York City streets by improving coordination at the curb. For our Transit Tech Lab pilot, our team was tasked to build a digital map of the curb and then analyze how it was being used.

To efficiently manage the curb, you need to know who is using the curb and when, but also understand the existing infrastructure: where the sidewalks are, the fire hydrants, the signage that shows what areas are zoned for delivery, ADA accessibility or other uses. The NYCDOT has all this infrastructure that identifies how the curb should be used, but it needed to be better documented and easier for its team to access. And up till now, much of this data was collected by “feet-on-the-street,” people manually tracking this information. That method is not only time-consuming but also challenging to do on a large scale. The benefit of a vehicle-based sensor approach is that it’s fast, scalable, and accurate.

Can you share key benefits the NYCDOT realized because of using your technology?

The pilot was set up to explore potential use cases and the types of insights our platform could reveal, as well as to identify problem areas. To start with, we developed a deep catalog of locations where infrastructure had yet to be digitized. By creating this inventory, we were able to bring visibility to the current state of the curb.

At the start of the program, the NYCDOT was particularly focused on street parking. However, due to the pandemic, commuting behavior changed drastically. People began driving less, and parking was less of an issue, but suddenly public transportation became extremely important, mainly bus stops. So, we adjusted our pilot’s focus and began exploring accessibility at bus stops.

“Up till now, much of this data was collected by “feet-on-the-street,” people manually tracking this information. That method is not only time-consuming but also challenging to do on a large scale. The benefit of a vehicle-based sensor approach is that it’s fast, scalable, and accurate.”

There are approximately 15,000 bus stops throughout the city, and you can imagine if you need to manually go to each one and log which ones are compliant and accessible. We created maps of two sections in the city: a small portion of Staten Island and another portion in the Bronx to compare different behaviors in those areas.

After harnessing this data, we put it in one place where it’s visible and accessible to the agency, allowing NYCDOT to better plan and analyze traffic flow at the curb. It will also give insight into commuter behavior to inform decisions such as determining street parking rates and congestion pricing.

What is your biggest lesson learned through your experience participating in the Transit Tech Lab and what advice would you give to an entrepreneur interested in applying to the program?

The most important lesson for us has been learning firsthand how procurement works within a large government agency.

We’d been told that working with the government can be a lengthy process, but we had no idea of all the complexities that go along with it. Initially, we thought it would be like any other company: they’ll like our product, sign a purchase order and we’ll get to work. But this guided experience with the help of the team at the Transit Tech Lab opened our eyes to the government procurement process, which has helped us figure out strategies for the future as a small company collaborating with larger organizations and city agencies.

We also had to listen to the needs of the customer and show that we were willing to be flexible. We already had a platform in place that we knew would help solve this problem for New York City. But as we interacted with NYCDOT, we realized we had to adjust the assumptions we’d made about what the customer wanted. We made tweaks along the way and NYCDOT was happy to sit down, review what we presented and give us guidance.

That high level of engagement and access to our customer was very beneficial and allowed us to produce a product that met their needs. From our perspective, being willing to respond to feedback makes all the difference in laying the groundwork for future collaboration opportunities.

What does the future of smart urban mobility look like for New York City?

The potential is great. An ideal smart city at this stage would establish an opportunity to explore what is possible. And what we provide is a must: high-definition digital maps displaying infrastructure of the physical world. This provides the baseline tool necessary to leverage 5G and access near real-time data, enabling a more informed and responsive city.

Looking ahead, I’m excited about what’s possible with augmented reality, virtual reality, robotic delivery and more. All those technologies depend on the existence of a digital map — it must be there first. And that’s what we’re focused on at Allvision. We’ve got a foot in two camps: a foot in today, helping cities manage their infrastructure and helping community residents get around better; and a foot in tomorrow, providing a platform on which all kinds of future innovators and entrepreneurs can come and build.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for more updates on the Transit Tech Lab!

Ronnie Hakim, HNTB’s national transit and rail market sector leader, and Sally Librera, AECOM’s transit market leader for the Americas, both served in leadership positions at the MTA — North America’s largest transportation network — and have a combined 50 years of experience in public transit operations and policy.

Through this initiative, Lab participants will gain insights on the requirements and operational issues at major public transit agencies. This personalized consultation will ensure that companies’ solutions provide value and address the needs of agencies and riders.

Ronnie and Sally recently joined the Lab to work with the companies selected for the Recovery and Sustainability Challenge pilots. Six companies are deploying technologies to address public transit safety, track new mobility patterns, and support clean energy goals for the MTA, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and NJ Transit.

Please join us in welcoming Ronnie and Sally to the Lab family and stay tuned for next year’s challenge announcement!

Ronnie Hakim

Ronnie Hakim is HNTB’s national transit and rail market sector leader. Based in HNTB’s New York City office, she is responsible for collaborating with HNTB leadership nationwide on strategic planning and implementation, industry representation, business development, service delivery, and client collaboration and satisfaction.

Prior to joining HNTB, she served as managing director of the MTA, where she was responsible for leading more than 70,000 employees in five operating agencies, overseeing transit systems that carry 9 million riders each day.

Full bio

Sally Librera

Sally is AECOM’s transit market leader for the Americas. She focuses on growing value and delivering sustainable, innovative, cost-effective solutions for transit providers, riders, communities, and systems.

As the former senior vice president for subways at MTA New York City Transit, Sally oversaw North America’s largest urban rail transit operation, leading a team of 30,000 employees and serving nearly 6 million daily riders. She oversaw 8,000 train trips on a fleet of 6,400 railcars across 660 miles of track and 472 stations each day.

Full bio

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for more updates on the Transit Tech Lab!

4AI Systems
In partnership with MACC products

4AI Systems demonstrated how their artificial intelligence software can improve reliability and safety through early track intrusion detection. Five cameras and sensors were installed on a R143 subway car and captured 5,000 miles of footage and 50 terabytes of data along the Canarsie Line. People, objects, and signal colors were detected up to 1,600 feet away. This solution can also help lower maintenance costs by replacing old wayside infrastructure.

Alstom

Alstom virtually demonstrated how Urbalis, a new CBTC system, could reduce headways, increase capacity, and accelerate installation time. The simplified train-to-train architecture eliminates the need for wayside equipment and provides quicker communication between trains. Alstom’s technology was tested along the 2, 3, and 5 lines in White Plains.

Luminar
In partnership with Seoul Robotics

Luminar’s 3D LiDAR and Seoul Robotics’ perception software successfully located trains to within 1m in GPS-denied locations. With accurate train positioning, the MTA could run trains closer together and reduce headways. The solution also has the potential to detect track hazards and infrastructure damage.

Ouster
In partnership with Lux Modus

Ouster and Lux Modus’ digital LiDAR sensor and mapping software captured 25,000 images and created a 3D twin of track infrastructure between Coney Island Yard and 4th Avenue Station. If used over time on a Track Geometry Car the technology can automate track maintenance, saving time and money. The solution also has the potential to support accurate train positioning and detect track hazards.

The Transit Tech Lab provides a pathway for innovative tech companies to efficiently collaborate with New York and New Jersey’s transportation agencies to improve transit services. In its inaugural 2019 program, the Lab sought cutting-edge solutions to better predict subway incident impacts and communicate with customers in real-time. Axon Vibe was one of four companies selected for a year-long pilot with the MTA as part of the Transit Tech Lab.

Recently, we caught up with Axon Vibe’s North American Managing Director Boris Matz to discuss his time in the Lab, working with the MTA and his advice for other entrepreneurs.

Axon Vibe is a graduate of the 2019 Transit Tech Lab (Subway & Bus Challenge) and also had a crucial part in the MTA’s pandemic response. Tell us what Axon Vibe does and what problem you solved for the MTA.

Axon Vibe helps public transit operators deliver a more seamless travel experience across their systems by a) leveraging location-based technology and predictive analytics to personalize the mobile app experience, b) connecting public and private travel modes, and c) incentivizing public transit use by partnering with local businesses and sustainability-focused funds.

In 2019, we were selected to participate in the Transit Tech Lab. During the program, we developed a smartphone app that used real-time New York City Transit data to enable customers to plan bus and subway journeys and receive personalized notifications based on their commuting patterns. The customized alerts would inform MTA riders before they entered an area with congestion or a service interruption. By alerting customers ahead of time, the MTA could reduce the impact of a delay on the transit system.

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York City, the MTA needed a tool to respond quickly to the changing conditions and asked our company to help the agency support its Essential Connector program, which connected essential workers in the New York metro area with alternative travel to and from work.

Tell us more about the Essential Connector app and what was the outcome?

In May 2020, the MTA made an unprecedented decision to close the subway at night to disinfect the system. This created a gap in service for essential workers who relied on public transit to get to work. We worked with the MTA to quickly create a solution to help essential workers navigate the service changes with ease.

In less than a week, we converted our pilot app, which was designed to test personalized transit notifications, into an enhanced mobile app that allowed essential workers to book subsidized car rides during the nightly subway shutdown.

Thanks to the Lab, Axon Vibe was in the right place at the right time. We were already working with the MTA and regularly meeting with our MTA working group. So, when this unexpected new challenge arose, we were well positioned to help the MTA deliver this emergency response effort. As a result, the Essential Connector app was the primary way customers booked the MTA’s subsidized rides throughout the subway closures. Additionally, essential workers planned over 300,000 journeys through the app over the duration of the Essential Connector program and benefited from the app’s personalization features.

Why did you decide to apply to the Transit Tech Lab?

We saw the Transit Tech Lab as a key entry point and opportunity for us to pilot our technology with a major transit agency. Axon Vibe is based in Switzerland, so the Transit Tech Lab offered us a chance to enter the U.S. market and work with the largest transit agency in the U.S.

For a company like Axon Vibe that was looking to grow, expand globally, and land new projects and clients in the U.S., the Transit Tech Lab provided a pathway for us to showcase our relatively new technology, which we had previously deployed in Europe and Asia, in New York.

Plus, I had been an MTA rider for over 10 years at that time, and selfishly wanted to use our technology to improve my own commute.

What have been some positive outcomes for your business as a result of participating in the Lab?

Our team was determined to get the most out of the experience. Primarily, working with MTA helped open the door to future opportunities in the U.S. and across the globe. Additionally, by working closely with MTA, we were able to understand first-hand the challenges U.S. public transit operators face and tailor our solutions to help.

The success of this partnership further helped validate our technology and broadly demonstrated our ability to help transit agencies seamlessly connect public and private modes of transportation.

What advice would you give to an entrepreneur interested in applying to the Lab?

The Lab can be a tremendous opportunity for an expanding firm, and I would encourage interested entrepreneurs to take a close look at the challenges presented by the Lab. If accepted, I would advise the participating companies to:

• Set specific, targeted pilot goals that the company is confident it can achieve and ideally over-deliver.
• Prioritize project management by identifying internal project champions, creating regular check-ins, and providing constant progress updates.
• Use the time with the transit partner to establish relationships and better understand the agency’s problems.

The Transit Tech Lab created a great program that helped us grow as a company, primarily because we heavily invested in the pilot’s success and approached every meeting and presentation as a chance to meet more people within the organization and learn what was on the mind of its leaders. So, I would encourage future participants to similarly take full advantage of their time in the Lab to get the most out of the experience.

We saw the Transit Tech Lab as a key entry point and opportunity for us to pilot our technology with a major transit agency.

Alumni Spotlight: Axon Vibe’s Journey from Proof of Concept to Powering the MTA’s App for Essential… was originally published in Partnership for New York City on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Companies worked closely with transportation agencies in New York and New Jersey over the course of eight weeks, offering solutions that range from artificial intelligence to hardware that can flag unexpected flooding conditions before they impact commuters.

Each company presents an opportunity to improve the public transportation experience for millions of people in the metro area.

Here’s what we learned:

Environmental Sustainability Challenge

How can we build a more climate-resilient transportation system and increase the energy efficiency of fleets and facilities?

Runwise

Runwise uses wireless technology and web-based software to operate heating and water systems more efficiently and lower utility costs.

The company installed 98 sensors across two Metro-North and two Port Authority buildings. The sensors monitored temperatures and provided seven actionable opportunities to reduce energy consumption and optimize heating in the buildings. Runwise estimates a 15% reduction of carbon emissions in each building if operational during the winter.

StormSensor

StormSensor provides cost-effective stormwater/climate data and analytics to prevent flooding, simplify monitoring and streamline maintenance and storm response.

The company installed a total of six sensors at Port Authority’s Newark Airport, Metro-North’s Mott Haven station and NJ Transit’s Oradell Station Garage. Over four weeks, the company captured one critical flooding event, 314 hours of active water flow and five storms. The dashboard created from the data provided key metrics, including system performance reports, precipitation and real-time water depth. These indicators can help agencies deploy emergency resources faster and reduce asset damage caused by extreme weather events.

The Mobility House

The Mobility House enables intelligent integration of electric vehicles with the grid while minimizing charging costs and optimizing vehicle duty cycles.

The company provided a software simulation to study how New York City Transit (NYCT) could maximize electric bus availability at the Charleston Bus Depot in Staten Island. Based on bus efficiency, the simulation found that 64% of scheduled trips on local routes from the Charleston depot could be operated with the selected electric bus model (assuming a sufficient total number of buses). When using ChargePilot, a CEM solution, the charging infrastructure planned for installation at the Charleston depot is sufficient to operate 96% of the viable trips while generating up to $35,000 in operational savings per month, compared to an unmanaged charging scenario.

Gridmatrix

Gridmatrix’s software processes live feeds from cameras using a cloud-based machine vision algorithm. This processed data is translated into structured metrics on traffic congestion, signal performance, vehicular emissions and roadway safety.

The company analyzed 525 hours of video footage from four critical access points along the George Washington Bridge — the world’s busiest bridge — including the Henry Hudson Parkway, Westside Highway and intersections in Fort Lee, New Jersey. GridMatrix provided key sustainability metrics, including the number of cars, idle time, total gas consumption and CO2 emissions. Collectively, this data can help agencies prioritize traffic projects that reduce carbon emissions. For example, GridMatrix identified a signalized intersection producing 150% more CO2 emissions than the average New York City intersection.

Microgrid Labs

Microgrid Labs offers software that untangles the complexity of fleet electrification, planning and management. The company works with operators to optimize their vehicle battery sizing, charger sizing and energy infrastructure.

The company provided fleet electrification planning for the NJ Transit Greenville Bus Garage using its EVOPT operational management software. Analyzing the operations of 85 buses along six routes, Microgrid Labs identified the energy, battery sizing and charger sizing requirements to help plan for the facility’s electric bus transition. Using their Charge Management solution, the garage could reduce their peak energy consumption from 1.8 MW to approximately 600 kW.

COVID Recovery Challenge

How can we support the recovery of public transit and deliver service that brings riders back?

Blyncsy

Blyncsy catalogs roadway infrastructure and conditions — including pavement markings, obstacles and roadway deterioration — to facilitate maintenance.

The company analyzed 75 NJ Transit bus stops and 55 miles of Port Authority pavement markings and road conditions using crowdsourced images from dash cameras. Blyncsy’s dashboard shows roadway conditions in real time, allowing agencies to streamline surveying processes for bus stop signage, mitigate pavement deterioration and enhance asset management systems.

Clarifai

Clarifai uses machine learning and computer vision software to identify illicit activity from camera feeds.

The company analyzed 90 minutes of video recordings within the NYCT subway system to train proprietary software that can detect unsafe behavior, identify track intrusions and monitor passenger flows. Clarifai’s software demonstrated how existing CCTV video feeds can be used to provide real-time alerts with a level of accuracy that improves over time.

Invision AI

Invision AI uses existing cameras and AI vision systems to create real-time 3D digital twins of transit stations.

The company worked with NJ Transit to ingest, process and analyze video footage from eight existing camera streams at Newark-Penn Station, one of the New York metropolitan area’s major transportation hubs. The product created a digital twin of the station concourse, providing a single cohesive view of 9,000+ square feet. Invision analyzed two weeks of video data and detected 1.6 million unique travel patterns with 93% accuracy. The company demonstrated how its privacy-preserving software generates passenger flow analytics and detects anomalous behavior to help agency staff better understand travel patterns and commuter behavior.

Quanergy

Quanergy uses LiDAR hardware paired with seamlessly integrated perception software to provide situational awareness for any space. The end to end solution can report unsafe behavior, offer classified object detection, passenger flow insights and serve a variety of use cases in the security, flow management and industrial automation verticals.

The company tested their 3D LiDAR technology at three NYCT subway stations (Bowling Green, West 4th St, Sutphin Blvd — JFK) and two Metro-North tracks in Grand Central Terminal. The company was able to detect platform crowding, track intrusions and fare evasion with 98% accuracy.

Zensors

Zensors uses artificial intelligence to capture actionable data from existing hardware and cameras to provide operations visibility.

The company worked with NYCT and Metro-North to ingest and process existing CCTV video footage. The software successfully detected fare evasion at Atlantic Ave Station with 93% accuracy, tracked passenger flows in Grand Central Terminal with 91% accuracy and counted railcar utilization with 91% accuracy.