Enhancing Transportation Visibility Across Miami-Dade County
Public Innovation Challenge No. 4
Miami-Dade Innovation Authority (“MDIA”) seeks early-to-growth stage startup companies with innovative solutions that can enhance Transportation Visibility in Miami-Dade County. Collaborators for this challenge include Miami-Dade County’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development (OIED) and Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW), CoMotion, and Transit Alliance Miami.
Why is Transportation Visibility Important?
As Miami-Dade continues to host large-scale sporting, cultural, and entertainment events, it is critical that we find ways to improve how residents and visitors navigate our transportation network during these peak times. The insights gained from innovative solutions could lead to better traffic management, reduced congestion, and more efficient public transit, benefiting both community members and event attendees. With tens of thousands of people on the roadways, enhanced visibility and real-time data could significantly improve safety, decrease transit times, and reduce emissions. Ultimately, data allows for better planning and enhanced connectivity, decreased transit times and lowered emissions, increased accessibility, and more.
Miami-Dade County is one of the most populous counties in the country with approximately +2.7 million residents and +27 million yearly visitors. With tens of thousands of these individuals on the roadways at a given time, whether as drivers, bikers, or pedestrians, increasing visibility into traffic and transit within the county is paramount to providing a safe and connected transportation network.
Which Solutions Are We Seeking?
MDIA seeks innovators with solutions that leverage sensors, cameras, spatial and traffic data aggregators and predictive analytics, AI and machine learning, and other technologies to enhance traffic visibility and management across roads, sidewalks, and other public spaces. Ultimately, solutions can be standalone or provide an additional layer of insight via integrations, but must demonstrate valuable impact on nontraditional commuting patterns or special events in a subsequent pilot.
The challenge focuses on several key areas of transportation:
For personal vehicle mobility: seeking solutions to reroute vehicles or provide key insights, particularly in response to special events or abnormalities such as construction or accidents.
For pedestrian movement: seeking solutions to help understand the movement of people and their transportation needs, with a focus on making travel safer and more efficient during special events.
For public transportation efficiency: seeking solutions to track routes and arrival/departure times, as well as adaptive signals and signal priority for public transportation, especially buses.
For general road usage: seeking solutions that leverage publicly available spatial and transit data to optimize traffic flow and reduce congestion.
How Does The Public Innovation Challenge Work?
Apply to submit your solution for an opportunity to receive a $100,000 equity investment and to test and validate your solution at the Department of Transportation and Public Works.
Your company should have an existing product or MVP (minimum viable product) that is ready to be tested and validated in a commercial market setting.
Your company should be legally registered and compliant with all relevant regulations and laws in your respective jurisdictions.
We evaluate each application thoroughly through a multi-stage process involving subject matter experts and an investor-led selection committee. While there are no inflexible rules and guidelines, we generally consider factors such as the level of innovation, feasibility of the proposed solution, potential for sustainable impact, financial stability as well as diversity, equity and inclusion with regard to the executive or management team.
Check out our FAQs to learn more about eligibility criteria, key deadlines, requirements, and other important information. If you still have questions about the challenge or the application process, register to join our challenge information session:
October 17th at 11:00am ET
Key Dates
Final Application Deadline: Friday, November 22, 2024 at 11:59pm ET
Application Review (6-8 weeks)
Top 10 Finalist Interviews: Late January/Early February 2025
About MDIA
Miami-Dade Innovation Authority bridges the gap between private innovators and the public sector to fast track innovation that improves quality of life for residents. Through our signature Public Innovation Challenge, we identify, invest in and support early-to-growth stage companies from across the globe to pilot, test and validate their technology and solutions to pressing public challenges in collaboration with the economic engines within Miami-Dade County.
For more information, go to: https://www.mdia.miami/about