NJ TRANSIT has selected four companies to test pilot technology to improve the health and safety of customers and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. These four companies were selected from a pool of eight finalists after a global search as part of the COVID-19 Response Challenge issued by Transit Tech Lab earlier this year.

“This group of companies, and the technologies they developed, reveal the tremendous promise of the Transit Innovation Partnership – especially today, as transit agencies around the world work to combat the COVID-19 pandemic,” said NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin Corbett. “These technologies have the potential to join all the innovative efforts already underway at NJ TRANSIT to fight COVID-19."

The following companies will participate in a multi- week pilot testing program with NJ TRANSIT:

• Vyv:  uses proprietary LED antimicrobial light to reduce bacteria/microbes from surfaces. This technology will be tested on an Access Link paratransit minibus, a local transit bus, and within common areas throughout NJ TRANSIT corporate buildings (i.e. elevators, restrooms).

• Knorr Merak: uses a three-stage air filtration and purification system to mitigate COVID-19. The air filtration technology will be piloted on a light rail car and a passenger rail car.

• Piper: provides video analytics and collects real time passenger counts from trains and platforms for integration with mobile apps. NJ TRANSIT is investigating the implementation of this technology on the River LINE. This can also be used to report on time performance.

• Strongarm: develops wearable technology that emits physical distancing alerts and can be used to collect data for contact tracing. The proof of concept for this technology will be a select set of floors in NJ TRANSIT Headquarters at 1 Penn Plaza in Newark.

After testing is complete, solutions that have proven to be successful may be chosen for an expanded year-long pilot deployment.

The COVID-19 Response Challenge was launched in July by the Transit Tech Lab with five participating agencies — NJ TRANSIT, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Department of Transportation, and the NYC Dept. of Education. The Transit Tech Lab is a program of the Transit Innovation Partnership, a public-private sector initiative created to improve public transit.

Since the onset of the pandemic, NJ TRANSIT has leveraged the latest technology to protect customers and employees. Examples of these solutions include a study to explore the use of ultraviolet-c (UVC) for disinfecting the agency’s bus fleet; a new feature available on the agency’s mobile app which allows customers to report and view capacity levels on buses and trains; and the expansion of contactless fare payment options.