Innovation Challenges

Innovation challenges are a powerful way to generate value enhancing solutions to barriers that limit our ability to maximize the benefits of transit, such as customer pain points. Business leaders will be consulted through workshops and roundtable discussions with subject matter experts to align on themes for the innovation challenge.

These challenges aim to enable internal collaboration through co-creation activities, such as challenges, pitch competitions, innovation jams, and hackathons, thus democratizing innovation to not be only an activity for senior leadership. We will run innovation challenges internally with TTC employees as well as externally with students, researchers, Indigenous communities, and industry leaders.

Internal

Our internal innovation challenges aim to engage TTC employees and stakeholders in identifying and solving key operational and service-related issues. These challenges foster a culture of creativity and problem-solving within the organization.

In 2024, we hosted the IYAI Youth Innovation Challenge, which encouraged young innovators to present solutions to improve TTC operations, sparking fresh perspectives and ideas. The solutions included AI virtual assistants, incentivized rewards, and fare tap tracking. Current status includes internal discussion and feasibility with stakeholders.

External

External challenges involve partnering with industry experts, academics, and innovators to address broader, systemic issues within the transit sector. These challenges provide us with diverse perspectives and new approaches to tackle pressing issues.

In 2024, we were the official case sponsor for Strive Conference, being one of the largest student-run case competitions in Canada, where participants worked on strategies to reduce fare evasion, offering us new insights to improve enforcement and reduce revenue loss.

Earlier in the year TTC also partnered with Centennial College’s School of Transportation to offer the launch our first academia hackathon featuring the Bus Design Innovation Program. The problem statement was “How Might We re-imagine the bus of the future to improve operator safety and rider experience?” Solutions included a new bus screen layout, AI behaviour flagging, dynamic displays, and in integrated safety dashboard.