After 24 intense hours of strategic thinking and creative coding, three teams emerged the winners of VIA Metropolitan Transit’s GoCodeSA Codeathon, a partnership event hosted by the agency that challenged area tech talent to imagine new transit solutions for the region.
Teams spent noon to noon on Saturday and Sunday, May 20 and 21, analyzing data sets to develop tech-based innovations for VIA programs and services. The first-place team was selected from more than 50 participants with an integration that allows users to utilize Amazon Echo and its Alexa Voice Service for trip-planning assistance, using next-bus arrival information at a specified stop. Contestants competed for $4,500 in cash and prizes, provided by various sponsors. VIA maintains access to Codeathon projects for possible development and future reference.
VIA paired with the Transportation Workgroup of the Alexander Briseño Leadership Development Program at the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Geekdom, and Codeup to organize Codeathon. Since 2015, VIA has advanced key investments in technology, including free systemwide 4G LTE WiFi, a partnership with Bexar County BiblioTech, a redesigned website, and a new mobile ticketing app expected out this summer.
“Events like Codeathon represent VIA’s ongoing investment in smart transit solutions that expand access to service, increase mobility, and enhance the passenger experience,” VIA President/CEO Jeffrey C. Arndt said. “Community partnerships encourage innovation and make ideas like these possible — proving that infinite possibilities exist when out-of-the-box thinking meets real-life challenges in our community.”
Codeathon teams could work on any type of project, such as web apps, mobile apps, wearable solutions, data visualizations, algorithms, or visual mock-ups. Challenges, data sets, and other resources focused on public transportation.
