TransLoc announces MARTA, Detroit as MicroTransit Challenge winners
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.
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 (MARTA) took top honors in the inaugural MicroTransit Accelerator Challenge competition held by TransLoc, a technology provider of flexible, agency-owned microtransit solutions.
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.
First Place Winners include:
Office of Mobility Innovation in the City of Detroit
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Under this extension, Keolis will continue to manage and operate fixed-route bus service across the East Valley, serving communities including Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, the town of Gilbert, parts of Phoenix, and the Gila River Indian Community.
Through the strategic partnership, MOIA America will provide MOIA’s turnkey autonomous mobility solution. This includes purpose-built, autonomous-ready ID. Buzz vehicles equipped with the self-driving system developed by Mobileye, as well as operator training and enablement.
LexRide connects key destinations, including Downtown Lexington, the Distillery District, and the Warehouse Block/National Avenue area, making it easier to explore without worrying about parking, traffic, or multiple rideshare trips.
Sustainability Partners’ Arnold Albiar discusses how a service-based approach is helping airports and public agencies deploy and manage electric fleets more efficiently.
The expanded service builds on Pace’s growing On Demand network and is intended to improve access to destinations such as medical appointments, schools, shopping, employment centers and connections to the regional transit system.
An important part of the authority’s NextGen Bus Network, MARTA Reach will bring transit service directly to the rider’s location and offer a seamless link to the broader rail and bus system.
