Winners of 2nd Annual VIA GoCodeSA Codeathon Announced

VIA Metropolitan Transit announced the winning team for the 2nd Annual VIA GoCodeSA Codeathon. Husband-wife team Ronnie and Jessica Rocha, called “Rocket Tiers,” took this year’s top honors. They designed an app that plans a round trip on the bus system based on a certain activity that a rider wishes to do, such as dining, shopping, and exploring. It also provides an estimated travel time.

The Codeathon, a partnership event designed to bring together the best coders, designers, and tech minds in the area, took place from Feb. 23 – 25, 2018, and was held at Trinity University’s Center for the Sciences and Innovation (CSI). The Codeathon offered coders an opportunity to compete for cash and prizes as they turned bright transit ideas into potential transit innovation for our region. The event drew 75 participants who powered through 48 hours of innovative thinking, with fantastic results.

Participants selected work on a provided challenge, but were not limited to them. Projects were judged on impact, innovation, and technical achievement. Exclusive VIA data sets were offered to more than 100 registered participants prior to the event. It’s free for participants who will compete for cash and prizes, based on their work. Codeathon teams can work on any type of project, such as web apps, mobile apps, wearable solutions, data visualizations, algorithms, or visual mock-ups.

GoCodeSA Codetahon platinum sponsors included Amazon Web Services, Codeup, Dell, Geekdom, IBM, Netsync Network Solutions, Trapeze, Trinity University, and USAA.