About

The Transit Tech Lab provides an accelerated pathway for early to growth-stage companies to solve public transportation challenges for the largest transit agencies in North America.

76

Alumni Companies

114

Proof of Concepts

60

Pilots

16

Commercially-Scaled Technologies

We're modernizing public transit with technology.

Key Program Benefits

Access to Decision Makers

Work closely with public sector leadership, operators, and engineers. This hands-on collaboration offers ongoing product feedback and access to public sector customers.

Transparent, Structured Program

Test directly with large, hard-to-reach public sector customers through a transparent structure with accelerated go/no-go decisions.

De-risked Entry into Government

Receive targeted guidance on New York City’s regional agency requirements, such as scoping, insurance, cybersecurity, and more – making it easier to enter one of the most challenging yet rewarding markets.

How It Works

Our challenge-based model accelerates the adoption of new technology across New York City:

1 Challenge Identification

2 Global Call for Applications

3 Evaluation Period

4 Proof of Concept

5 Pilots and Beyond

Transit Tech Lab Co-Founders and Partners

The Transit Tech Lab was founded by the Partnership Fund for New York City and the MTA to accelerate innovation in North America's largest public transit system. It is an initiative of the Transit Innovation Partnership, a broader public private partnership launched in 2018 by the MTA and the Partnership for New York City.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is North America's largest transportation network, serving a population of 15.3 million people across a 5,000-square-mile travel area surrounding New York City, Long Island, southeastern New York State, and Connecticut. The MTA network comprises the nation’s largest bus fleet and more subway and commuter rail cars than all other U.S. transit systems combined.

The New York City Department of Transportation's (NYC DOT) mission is to provide for the safe, equitable, and sustainable movement of people and goods and create public spaces that strengthen our communities. The agency's vision is a transportation system that provides equitable mobility for all residents and visitors, is environmentally sustainable and built to adapt to the threat of climate change, and is driven by human power and clean energy.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a bi-state agency that builds, operates, and maintains many of the most important transportation and trade infrastructure assets in the country. For over a century, the agency’s network of major airports; critical bridges, tunnels and bus terminals; a commuter rail line; and the busiest seaport on the East Coast has been among the most vital in the country – transporting hundreds of millions of people and moving essential goods into and out of the region. The Port Authority also owns and manages the 16-acre World Trade Center campus, which today welcomes tens of thousands of office workers and millions of annual visitors.

The Partnership Fund for New York City is the $130 million investment arm of the Partnership for New York City, New York’s leading business organization. The Fund’s mission is to engage the City’s business leaders to identify and support promising entrepreneurs—in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors—to create jobs, spur new business and expand opportunities for New Yorkers to participate in the City’s economy. As an “evergreen” fund, realized gains are continuously reinvested.

Leadership

Our program leadership guides companies through the Transit Tech Lab’s challenge identification, application, evaluation, and testing processes via hands-on project management, support, and testing best practice advice.