Oct 29, 2024

Regional Transportation Agencies Deploy Innovative Tech to Improve Operations, Employee Retention and Recruitment January 22, 2024 After Successful Proofs of Concept, 13 Companies Selected to Scale Pilots with MTA, Port Authority and NJ TRANSIT Today, the Transit Tech Lab —a public-private initiative created by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Partnership for New York City to bring private sector innovation to New York’s public transit system—announced 13 winners of last year’s annual accelerator-style competition, which was focused on Human Capital and Operational Efficiency. The winning companies have each completed successful eight-week proof-of-concept collaborations with participating agencies and will now move on to deploy their technologies through larger-scale pilot programs—a crucial step to help agencies understand the viability and scalability of new technology solutions. The participating transit agencies, which include the MTA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), and NJ TRANSIT, aim to leverage emerging technologies, including LiDAR, artificial intelligence, and IoT to mitigate service disruptions, automate operations, and combat workforce shortages. The Operational Efficiency and Human Capital Challenges were announced in January 2023 and solicited nearly 150 applicants from across the world. Select companies then completed proofs of concept with the partner agencies. The 13 pilot winners, which were evaluated and selected by a team of transit and human capital experts, include: Human Capital Challenge Pilot Winners: eSkill Corporation (North Chelmsford, MA) - Provides a Talent Assessment Platform, including an online skills testing library and a remote proctoring solution, to easily evaluate job candidates through a fully configurable online platform. Partner Agencies: Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Jetdocs (Ontario, Canada) - Provides a centralized catalog for users to submit tickets, requests and approvals, enabling easy standardization of processes to streamline workflows and enhance internal collaboration. Partner Agency: Metropolitan Transportation Authority PyxAI (Boston, MA) - Provides a virtual, AI-enabled assessment platform that evaluates and collects data on people skills (e.g., communication, problem solving, adaptability, etc.) to help organizations identify hidden talent, improve retention rates and future-proof their workforce. Partner Agency: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Operational Efficiency Challenge Pilot Winners: ACCURE Battery Intelligence (USA and Germany) - Provides a predictive battery analytics platform that uses AI and machine learning to improve safety, enhance performance, and extend the life of energy storage and Electric Vehicle (EV) assets. Partner Agency: New York City Transit Digital Mortar (San Rafael, CA) - Utilizes passenger flow sensors to provide real-time customer journey analytics for queue management, dynamic labor allocation, lost revenue analysis, and space planning and commercial real-estate optimization. Partner Agency: NJ TRANSIT Humatics (Waltham, MA) - Enables revenue service rolling stock to provide near real-time monitoring of track conditions with precise positioning of track anomalies for improved maintenance operations. Partner Agency: NJ TRANSIT Lux Modus (Calgary, Canada) - Uses LiDAR and imagery fusion technology to automate 3D mapping to optimize asset management on critical transit infrastructure. Partner Agencies: NJ TRANSIT, New York City Transit, Metro North Railroad & Long Island Railroad Signapse AI (Guildford, United Kingdom) - Utilizes AI to automatically translate written text to sign language enabling scalable, faster and more cost-effective accessible content for the Deaf community. Partner Agency: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Swiftly Inc. (San Francisco, CA) - Provides the industry’s leading transit data platform for agencies to share real-time passenger information, manage day-to-day operations, and improve service performance. Partner Agency: New York City Transit TekTracking (Fairport, NY) - Offers a set of mobile applications designed to streamline the reporting process for track inspection and signal testing. TekTracking serves as a link between conventional Enterprise Asset Management Systems and specialized fields such as Track and Signal. The user-friendly Mobile Applications are crafted with the end user in mind, ensuring effortless capture of crucial information and seamless report generation. Partner Agency: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Throughput Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) - Provides a rapid supply chain diagnostics software that enables immediate operational intervention, eliminating maintenance downtime caused by supply chain delays and unavailability of parts. Partner Agencies: Metro North Railroad, Long Island Railroad Widesense (Berkeley, CA) - Provides full lifecycle fleet electrification software and services. WideSense's AI-powered toolchain optimizes fleet operators' performance from planning to dispatch to operations and maintenance. It reduces infrastructure costs, increases vehicle utilization and service reliability, and enables EV fleet operations that are more cost-competitive than diesel fleets. Partner Agency: NJ TRANSIT Wi-Tronix (Bolingbrook, IL) - An immersive, real-time IoT platform that is essential for railroads and transit systems to continuously improve operations, safety practices, and service reliability; Wi-Tronix collects insights from onboard systems and enables remote visibility for customers to make decisions and respond to issues quickly and efficiently. Partner Agencies: Metro-North Railroad, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Winners selected through the Transit Tech Lab are eligible for competitive funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), which provides support for projects that demonstrate innovative transit-focused solutions that align with New York State’s clean transportation goals. Stacey Matlen, Vice President of Innovation at the Partnership for New York City, said, “Thanks to our partner agencies’ stewardship and our pilot winners’ cutting-edge technologies, we are proud to share that this is the largest Transit Tech Lab pilot class ever. We’re eager for New Yorkers to experience the advantages of their efforts, which will lead to a better experience for transit users through advancements in the critical areas of operational efficiency and human capital.” Rob Galvin, chief technology officer at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said, “The Port Authority is always looking to refine our recruitment methods to bring in top-tier talent, as well as to elevate our operations practices to make sure our systems are efficient, reliable, and accessible for all customers. We’re eager to work with these companies through the Transit Tech Lab to help channel their ambition and ingenuity into something that can benefit our entire region.” Jessica Mathew, Senior Advisor for Special Projects at MTA, said, “Implementing operating efficiencies and retaining top talent are top priorities to ensuring a stable future for the MTA. The pilot winners demonstrated solutions that have the ability to advance our efforts in these areas, and this next phase will allow us to scale these technologies up." Lookman Fazal, Chief Information and Digital Officer of NJ TRANSIT, said, “New Jersey’s Innovation economy gave birth to the world’s first transistors, and invented many of the technologies that power so much opportunity in today’s mobility ecosystem. In this nationally important moment for public transportation, NJ TRANSIT recognizes the immense power that ‘innovation in mobility’ has to deliver a stronger, fairer New Jersey, and looks forward to our continued partnership with the Transit Tech Lab to connect us with firms that are developing creative solutions to key components of our operations.” Adam Ruder, Director Of Clean Transportation at NYSERDA, said, “Transit Tech Lab and the companies awarded in this year's competition are advancing the innovative transportation solutions needed to counter climate change and lower carbon emissions through improved efficiency and transit management. NYSERDA is proud to partner with them on putting the latest technologies in place for New Yorkers to have healthier, safer, and cleaner commutes.” Since 2018, the Lab has fielded over 750 applicants, tested 51 technologies, and facilitated 8 commercial engagements. The Lab is currently soliciting applications for its newest class, which aims to help partner agencies enhance customer experience, resiliency and curb management. Until February 28, 2024, interested early and growth stage companies can submit their proposals at: transitinnovation.org/lab . About the Transit Tech Lab The Transit Tech Lab, co-founded by the MTA and the Partnership Fund for New York City to make New York the global leader in public transit, provides a pathway for growth-stage companies to efficiently solve public transportation challenges. Winners of previous competitions include Remix, a collaborative digital platform used to redesign the bus routes, Axon Vibe, which built the Essential Connector smartphone app to help essential workers plan journeys during overnight subway disinfection closures, and Navilens, which enables visually impaired and limited English proficiency New Yorkers to better navigate the subway and bus systems.