The Transit Tech Lab, a joint initiative of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Partnership Fund for New York City, has released the proof-of-concept results for its three latest challenges. The 18 participating startups collaborated with MTA, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANY/NJ), New Jersey Transit (NJT), and NYC Department of Transportation to test their new technology “for building a more adaptive transit system, improving customer experience, and maximizing the utility of curb areas on New York City streets,” Transit Tech Lab reported Sept. 23.
Over the course of eight weeks, beginning in May 2024, the startups worked with one or more of the participating transit agencies. The following test results highlight how their technologies can help the agencies “be more efficient, responsive, and adaptive to 21st century challenges,” according to Transit Tech Lab.
Resilience Challenge
Nine companies participated in this challenge on “How can we build a more resilient and adaptive transit system?”
1. Advanced Rail and Transit Solutions, Inc.: Working with PANY/NJ, Advance Rail installed two LiDAR devices at Newark Penn Station “to provide insights about fare evasion by anonymously measuring passenger flows,” according to Transit Tech Lab. “If effective, this type of technology could replace the current process of manually surveying fare evasion. If this tracking were done during all peak weekday ridership periods, it would translate into saving 160 hours/week of staff time.” Additionally, Advanced Rail worked with MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) to provide positioning guidance to assist bus operators “to more efficiently align battery electric buses with pantograph chargers,” Transit Tech Lab said. NYCT’s Systems Engineer Manager, Zero Emissions and Fleet Technologies was reported as saying: “In our initial test trial, the bus operator was asked to position the bus under the Pantograph Charger relying solely on the Advanced Rail’s LED indicators without the help of the green/yellow lines and the green box marker that they currently use, and the tests were successful. If effective, this type of technology could aid in bus positioning under the chargers especially during snowy winter times, when the markers aren’t always visible.”
2. AlphaRoute: AlphaRoute applied its routing optimization software to seven days of paratransit service, which covered more than 200,000 paratransit trips, according to Transit Tech Lab, which noted that the software was customized to incorporate all major operational rules and service requirements. “AlphaRoute’s software increased the total number of trips/hour (productivity) by 53% on average, which could reduce the total number of trips sent to brokers by 11.7%,” Transit Tech Lab said. “AlphaRoute estimated that if their optimization solution was scaled across New York City Transit’s entire paratransit portfolio, they could save $18 million-$38 million annually by avoiding thousands of additional broker trips per day. In addition, AlphaRoute demonstrated its ability to significantly reduce New York City Transit’s daily trip scheduling processing time, routing over 35,000 trips in under 10 minutes, compared to 40 minutes for the same volume in the current system.”
3. Cascara Energy: Cascara Energy modeled 12 technical scenarios and performed an economic analysis of its cooling solution at MTA’s Brooklyn Third Avenue Subway Station on the L line. Analysis found that the company could reduce platform temperatures there and sell $171,000 worth of recovered heat annually, or 12,614 MMBtu of heat, “which is enough to meet the annual domestic hot water needs of over 1,000 households,” according to Transit Tech Lab. MTA Construction & Development’s Senior Manager, Climate Sustainability Planning, Capital Strategy was quoted as saying: “There is tremendous potential to recover and reuse heat from our subways, as demonstrated by this POC [proof of concept].”
4. CloudMonitoring/REMS Plus LLC: CloudMonitoring installed 16 sensors across 12 locations within NYCT, MTA Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), and MTA Metro-North Railroad (MNR) facilities “to deliver comprehensive analytics on temperature, humidity, and water intrusion,” according to Transit Tech Lab. “Initial data demonstrated the value of real-time equipment monitoring across the three MTA agencies,” it reported. At NYCT, CloudMonitoring installed six sensors in four subway stations, including temperature sensors, which can be used to provide “critical baseline data for planning and climate mitigation capital planning.” At MNR, it installed four water detection and intrusion sensors to track water intrusion at four facilities. “While no major water events were detected, the team learned which type of sensor works best in the rail environment,” Transit Tech Lab reported. “In the future, these alerts could help protect critical electrical equipment and improve worker safety.” At LIRR, CloudMonitoring installed six sensors, including ultrasonic level sensors, to measure flooding at the Island Park Station. This monitoring helps establish baselines for storm event mitigation planning with respect to flooding in low lying stations and facilities, according to Transit Tech Lab. “We are excited about the potential of using environmental sensors to provide real-time data on critical infrastructure,” an MTA Construction & Development Senior Manager, Climate Resilience Planning was quoted as saying. “This data may also point to longer-term trends that can inform Capital Planning.”
5. FLX Solutions: FLX Solutions worked with 28 MTA and NJT employees to determine the best maintenance tasks for its FLX BOT, which is described as a “handheld robot that enables maintenance and inspection in hard-to-reach locations.” After shadowing 13 tasks across eight locations, the team identified two use cases where the FLX Bot could have the strongest return on investment. According to Transit Tech Lab, the use cases were aiding in track-adjacent maintenance work and replacing ladders. “FLX Solutions demonstrated the potential to provide a 150% increase in worker efficiency by not needing to pause work every time a train was nearby,” Transit Tech Lab reported. “Additionally, the extendable nature of the FLX BOT could eliminate the need for ladders to inspect certain hard- to-reach spaces. This could eliminate the added costs of ladder setup and breakdown time, the need for extra personnel to ensure safety, and the risk of worker injury from falls.”
6. Intelligent Security Systems (ISS): ISS worked with PANY/NJ to demonstrate how its under-vehicle inspection tool could improve the current security checkpoint process for cars entering the World Trade Center. In three weeks, the company scanned more than 2,000 cars and provided information about the vehicle types, vehicle flows, and average checkpoint passage time, according to Transit Tech Lab, which noted that ISS also screened for undercarriage anomalies. “By integrating with existing security databases, ISS increased efficiencies in standard vehicle screening processes,” Transit Tech Lab reported. ISS also worked with NJT and LIRR to explore how its software “could be trained to detect train defects under railcar carriages.”
7. Irmos Technologies: Irmos installed a total of nine vibration sensors on three PANY/NJ bridges—Walnut Street, Cottage Street, and East Kinney Street—to conduct structural degradation assessments and to provide maintenance-specific recommendations. “Through real-time monitoring, Irmos translated vibrations into structural degradation metrics to expose ‘invisible weaknesses,’” according to Transit Tech Lab. “With sensors that can be installed in under 30 minutes, Irmos demonstrated how its sensor technology could be an efficient tool to help prioritize maintenance needs.” Transit Tech Lab quoted a Senior Reliability Engineer at PANY/NJ’s PATH as saying: “Irmos was able to successfully demonstrate how their vibration sensors and ensuing data analysis can provide insight into the structural integrity of a bridge in real-time. Their ability to translate vibration data into a suite of leading and lagging indicators has the potential to inform any railroad on the condition of their bridge assets and evaluate remaining useful life.”
8. QEA: Working with PANY/NJ and MTA, QEA Tech conducted a building envelope energy audit of PANY/NJ’s Holland Tunnel Administration Building and LIRR’s Garden City Facility. “After successfully completing thermal imaging drone scans and analysis on the two buildings, QEA shared a breakdown of the greatest areas of opportunity for reducing energy loss from the building envelope,” Transit Tech Lab reported. To achieve PANY/NJ’s “net zero carbon emissions goal, we require significant retrofits to our existing buildings,” a Senior Sustainable Design Specialist in PANY/NJ’s Engineering Department was quoted as saying. “Drone-based thermal scanning technology and analysis software offers a valuable tool to identify energy-saving opportunities through building envelope enhancements.”
9. Voltpost: Working with NJT and MTA Construction and Development, Voltpost reviewed sites for a potential deployment of its EV charging system. The company assessed 273 potential sites for NJT and selected seven locations for further evaluation; it performed site evaluations at nine MTA locations, and selected three sites for potential deployment. “Voltpost projected that they could retrofit lampposts in about an hour and could reduce the cost of installation by approximately 68%-92% when compared to a typical EV charging installation,” according to Transit Tech Lab. An MTA Construction and Development Manager, Climate Sustainability Planning, was quoted as saying: “The future of transportation requires combining a wide range of opportunities. By integrating multiple solutions, the MTA can successfully deliver a better experience for customers by exploring tools that can meet complex needs, including modular construction and electrification.”
Customer Experience Challenge
Five companies participated in this challenge on “How can we improve customer experience by better communicating service changes, reducing delays, and augment safety and cleanliness initiatives?”
1. BusPas: Buspas integrated NJT real-time bus schedules (GTFS-RT feeds) at the West Bradford Avenue bus stop outside NJT headquarters, and developed a pilot scope outlining how its “smart bus stop” can improve bus service planning and customer experience at six locations, according to Transit Tech Lab. Bus service planning tests include validating that BusPas’s technology can provide “better information about customer wait times, shelter damage, and obstacles in bus lanes”; customer experience tests include “validating that BusPas’s technology can provide audible bus information, real-time bus arrival predictions, detour information, and motion detection lighting.” NJT’s Deputy CTO-Head of Innovation was quoted as saying: “BusPas is helping NJT identify ways to use bus signs and shelters to improve real-time passenger information, safety, and route planning.”
2. Convo Communications: QR codes were installed to enable real-time ASL translation for Deaf customers at MTA’s subway Customer Service Centers located at Times Square-42nd Street and 34th St-Penn Station, and Port Authority Bus Terminal’s Info Kiosks and ticket booths. Convo Communications shared a promotional video about the service on social media, reaching more than 330,000 people in one week with 400-plus positive comments, according to Transit Tech Lab, which noted that within four weeks, Convo Communications “successfully provided interpretation services for 44 customer interactions.” Qualitative feedback captured from these customers highlighted the value of the tool, noted Transit Tech Lab; customers reported that “they felt ‘seen, empowered, and grateful’ for the service.”
3. GoodMaps: GoodMaps completed a LiDAR scan of Hoboken Terminal, which is shared by PANY/NJ’s PATH system, NJT and NY Waterway, “to support the development of a customized, accessible indoor navigation tool in the GoodMaps app,” according to Transit Tech Lab. Additionally, the company delivered “point cloud imagery and an initial CAD drawing of Hoboken Station,” which Transit Tech Lab reported “support the creation of an AR-enhanced indoor navigation experience to improve accessibility and wayfinding for the 50,000 commuters who travel through Hoboken Station each day.” A Senior Marketing Analyst in PATH’s Passenger Services and Customer Experience Division was quoted as saying: “We are excited to test the GoodMaps Proof of Concept with internal stakeholders and PATH customers. This promising first step will help us along our roadmap to improve Customer Experience and demonstrate our commitment to providing equal access to our system.”
4. Urban Solar Inc.: In partnership with NYC DOT and NJT, Urban Solar demonstrated how its battery-powered bus signs can provide real-time information at two bus stops: NYC DOT’s Broadway/Morris bus stop and NJT’s Raymond BLVD/Raymond Plaza bus stop. The company integrated real-time bus schedules (GTFS RT data feeds) from 16,000 NJT and 14,000 NYC DOT bus stops, and then created a pilot scope to demonstrate how they would use the integration with GTFS RT data feeds to provide real-time passenger information (RTPI), messaging, and dynamic content at scale across all bus stops, according to Transit Tech Lab. An NYC DOT Director of Transit Planning and Policy was quoted as saying: “Urban Solar has been great to work with and were able to demonstrate that their product options hold promise for a solution that could work in New York City.”
5. Velocia: Velocia worked with PANY/NJ to establish a “trucker ambassador program.” The partners “onboarded active trucker ambassadors and collected valuable qualitative and quantitative feedback from hard-to-reach customers,” Transit Tech Lab said. In the future, it noted, this information can help PANY/NJ “make more data-driven decisions about its operations.” Velocia also worked with NYCT “to simulate how its survey and rewards platform could change behaviors among employees and riders,” Transit Tech Lab reported. They conducted an NYCT employee survey “to demonstrate Velocia’s flexible surveying functionality and data analysis dashboard.” Additionally, Velocia identified 15-plus “behavior change campaign opportunities to reduce operating costs and increase service reliability,” according to Transit Tech Lab. Potential future use cases include using Velocia’s rewards platform to encourage coin-paying bus customers to pay with OMNY, or to motivate paratransit customers to book trips via the MY AAR app, Transit Tech Lab said.
NYC DOT’s Curb Activity Challenge
AIWaysion, Appyway, Populus, and Seyond participated in this challenge on “How can we maximize the city’s curb space to serve the multiple and varied needs of New Yorkers?”
The companies worked with NYC DOT to:
- Evaluate LiDAR and Edge AI sensors as potential solutions to help automate the collection of curb data.
- Perform an assessment of existing data management systems to identify how a curb management software solution could augment and digitize existing curb data inventories.
“We established the Transit Tech Lab, as well as our other Lab programs, to ensure that government has access to transformative technologies,” Partnership Fund for New York City President and CEO Maria Gotsch said. “We believe the 18 technologies demonstrated during this year’s proof-of-concept period provided valuable insights for our transit partner on how technology can enhance their operations and in doing so hold immense potential to improve our city.”
“We’re excited to review the results of this year’s Transit Tech Lab challenges and explore new technology and the opportunities they could provide,” MTA Senior Advisor for Special Projects Jessica Mathew said.
“The Transit Tech Lab has been a valuable partner for the PANY/NJ as we increasingly focus on harnessing technology to manage and operate our vast network of infrastructure encompassing planes, trains, automobiles and ships,” PANY/NJ Chief Technology Officer Rob Galvin said. “Working with the startups allows the agency to participate in research development such as exploring scalability of the projects across our myriad facilities. The opportunity to access the creativity and innovation at these startups has been incredibly helpful as we work to incorporate best practices into our daily operations.”
This was the sixth annual program of the Transit Tech Lab, which since 2018 has fielded more than 900 applicants; tested 69 new technology solutions; and piloted 33 integrated solutions, deploying 12 at scale.
Further Reading:
Transit Tech Lab Releases Results for Human Capital, Operational Efficiency Challenges
