Eighteen startup companies have eight weeks to show how their technologies could help New York’s transit system improve infrastructure management, modernize data and update workflow processes.
The latest cohort marks the eighth year of the Transit Tech Lab, a public-private initiative created in 2018 by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Partnership Fund for New York City. Since its inception, more than 1,000 companies have applied, 81 concepts have been tested and 22 have been brought to fruition, Stacey Matlen, senior vice president of innovation for the Partnership Fund, told Smart Cities Dive.
“We recruit startups from all around the world to apply,” Matlen said. The Partnership Fund helps facilitate the evaluation process, and the transit staff vets the technologies, she explained.
The 18 companies are already producing proofs of concept in collaboration with agency partners. “They’re using dummy data or public data, and they’re demonstrating the value of their technology in a safe way,” Matlen said. The MTA agencies, which include subways, buses, commuter rail, bridges, tunnels, construction, and other operations, then decide which concepts to test in a year-long pilot program.
Previous ideas that went into practice include scheduling software that helped the MTA redesign its bus network, an app that helps visually impaired riders and those with limited English proficiency navigate the transit system and a digital subway system map that shows train locations, departure times, service changes, routes and the status of elevators and escalators.
“What we find is that technologies that can articulate how they are saving time, how they are saving money and [how] they are really improving operations are the ones that tend to scale,” Matlen said.
Modernizing procurement, addressing cybersecurity threats and optimizing bus and train schedules are issues that come up with every innovation cycle, she said.
“We’re definitely seeing AI” as a growing trend, Matlen added. For this year’s cohort, “the majority, if not more, of the solutions use AI in some way, shape or form.”
The 2026 cohort’s proposals include an AI-powered procurement tool that helps government agencies draft solicitations, find qualified vendors and evaluate bids; an AI tool to detect mechanical degradation of railcar components; and an AI-powered trackside imaging system that captures high-resolution scans of rolling stock at speed and automatically detects mechanical defects.
At the end of the eight weeks, each company will present its concepts to agency executives and staff. Companies selected to move forward with a year-long pilot program should begin implementing their ideas around November, Matlen said.
In addition to the MTA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey participates in seeking ideas for aviation, ports, engineering, security and its Port Authority Trans-Hudson, or PATH, rapid transit line between New Jersey and Manhattan. Other participants include the New York City Departments of Transportation and Design and Construction and New Jersey Transit.
