Statewide Hackathon Gives RIPTA A Boost!
Last month, dozens of self-proclaimed Geeks hunkered down at Times2 Stem Academy in Providence to spend the greater part of a weekend using their brain power to come up with apps that will help public transit passengers in Rhode Island.
They were taking part in the State’s #HackRI Hackathon which focused on “Revolutionizing RIPTA.” Participants were provided access to RIPTA’s real-time data feed which uses GPS technology to show where buses are on their routes. Fueled by lots of snacks, and even more caffeine, the programmers used the data to develop prototype apps that would be able to show RIPTA customers when their bus would arrive in real time, not just the scheduled time. Many made their projects even more elaborate with some using the GPS on smart phones to enable people to find out what bus routes were near their location and others generating texts to alert passengers that their bus was getting close.
“We were so impressed,” said Barbara Polichetti, Director of Public Affairs for RIPTA. “There are many transit apps on the market, but a lot of the hackathon participants added their own touches and enhancements – all of which would either benefit our customers or our own ability to collect and synthesis data from our buses. To us, they are all winners.” She said that the next step will be for RIPTA to follow up with some of the participants to see if their prototypes can be implemented on a large scale.
The hackathon was organized by the State of Rhode Island Office of Innovation, RIPTA, IntraCity Geeks and MojoTech.
Click here to view photos from the event.
