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

• Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority

Second Place Winners include:

• Lane Transit in Lane County, Ore.

• Pace Bus in the metropolitan Chicago area

• Airport Corridor Transportation Association