DRT, Durham College students work together to develop public transit solutions
Durham Region Transit (DRT) has partnered with Durham College in support of the university’s science, engineering and information technology (SEIT) inaugural Hackathon.
According to DRT, over 24 hours, participants engaged in a marathon of creativity and collaboration, working in small teams to develop solutions aimed at enhancing the transit experience for both riders and operators. DRT provided the university with expert judges, open data and mentors to support the SEIT students throughout the event.
The hackathon teams focused on three key areas:
- Real-time bus information: Solutions to provide transit riders with up-to-date bus times, ensuring they can plan their journeys more efficiently.
- Operator communication: Tools for bus operators to notify operations of detours along routes, improving communication and service reliability.
- Bus capacity tracking: Systems to track how busy buses are, helping riders make informed decisions about their travel plans.
“The Hackathon not only empowered students to push the boundaries of their coding, design and critical thinking skills, but it also demonstrated the potential for technology to improve our transit services and enhance the rider experience,” said DRT Tech Solutions Program Manager Neil Harkness.
DRT says that while some of these solutions were already available on its existing apps, the Hackathon provided an opportunity to refine and expand these features, demonstrating the potential for continuous improvement and innovation.
The winning team, Bus Buddy, impressed judges with their innovative solution that leverages data to provide real-time information on bus capacity, tracks bus routes and offers up-to-the-minute updates for transit riders.
Participants were invited to present their transit hack to the Transit Executive Committee.
