From a field of submissions representing some of the most innovative municipal transit agencies across the nation, the Office of Mobility Innovation in the city of Detroit and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority take top honors in the inaugural MicroTransit Accelerator Challenge competition held by TransLoc.
The Challenge sought to identify the nation’s most visionary municipal transit agencies and reward them with the expertise, planning resources, data analytics and predictive modeling to help stimulate demand-driven, flexible transit in the communities they serve.
Entries from more than 15 states were evaluated by a panel including world-class public transportation and smart city experts, Gabe Klein and Peter Hirshberg, judging each entry against any of four criteria: increased ridership, social and community value, environmental impact and improved efficiency. Due to an astonishingly high volume of high-quality submissions, TransLoc changed the parameters of the competition, selecting two first place winners and three second place winners.
“The transportation industry is experiencing a major expansion of demand-driven transit modes to complement and augment traditional fixed route transit services. Transit agencies, industry experts and riders are recognizing that ride-hailing options aren’t helping solve transportation’s biggest challenges the way microtransit can and does,” said TransLoc CEO Doug Kaufman.
“TransLoc’s MicroTransit Simulator, at its core, is about leveraging data, something that transit agencies desperately need to more fully understand the needs and behaviors of their users to provide the ultimate rider experience and to further integrate themselves into the smart cities of tomorrow,” said smart city expert and TransLoc advisor Peter Hirshberg.
"Mayor Duggan's vision for mobility is to make it easier, safer, and more affordable to get around Detroit. One of the ways we will accomplish this is integrating new types of services and technologies with our traditional DDOT bus service," said Mark de la Vergne, Detroit's chief of Mobility Innovation. "We are excited to work with the team at TransLoc on our next steps towards this initiative."
First Place Winners include:
- Office of Mobility Innovation in the city of Detroit
- Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA)
Second Place Winners include:
- Lane Transit in Lane County Oregon
- Pace Bus in the metropolitan Chicago area
- Airport Corridor Transportation Association (ACTA)
