4th Y4PT Global Transport Hackathon Dubai 2020

10-16 April 2020 | Dubai (United Arab Emirates, Middle East)

UITP MENA Regional Public Transport Congress and Exhibition Dubai 2020

The fourth edition of the world’s first-ever global transport hackathon in the framework of the MENA region’s top sustainable transport event

The 4th Y4PT Global Transport Hackathon Dubai 2020 will take place from 10 to 12 April. Winners will be announced during the Opening Ceremony of the UITP MENA Congress on 13 April and the concrete results of the different local hackathons will be exhibited at the Y4PT Hackathon Fair from 13 to 15 April.

After the success of the Y4PT Global Transport Hackathon series held in Montreal 2017, Dubai 2018 and Stockholm 2019, the Youth For Public Transport (Y4PT) Foundation, with the support of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), its members and other stakeholders, and following the long-standing tradition of Y4PT Youth Lab series, is promoting the organization of local transport hackathons around the world during the 2019-2020 season, by combining the best of boundless human creativity and the benefits of current information and communications technologies (ICTs) in collaborative environments, with the aim of advancing transport sector towards sustainability.

Winners from each local transport hackathon will join other Emirates-based hackers at the 4th Y4PT Global Transport Hackathon Dubai 2020 (https://www.y4pt.org/projects/hackathon/seasons/s4/global/dubai/) in the framework of the UITP MENA Regional Public Transport Congress and Exhibition Dubai 2020 – the MENA region’s top sustainable transport event – to contest in a final round for unveiling the world’s best ground-breaking transport solutions.

Many cities around the world are hosting the first local transport hackathons. Other cities are also welcome to join.

Different stakeholders such as universities, youth groups, ICT companies, transport operators, authorities, start-up mentors, innovation centers and hackers are called to collaborate with Y4PT and to be part of the next edition of the world’s first ever global transport hackathon.

Everyone is invited to get on board. This is a one-off opportunity to show to your audience and users how important is for you to support this kind of event where innovation and creativity is putting forward new ICT-related solutions to boost both the private sector business performance and the public sector policy efficacy, and thus to unlock new opportunities to expand, diversify and renew your organization’s portfolio of products and services.

What is a Hackathon?

A Hackathon is an event, typically lasting several days, where a number of skilled people meet to engage in software programming and hardware prototyping, with the aim of ingeniously solving specific issues in a collaborative and cooperative environment. Hackathon outcomes usually lead to the inception of startup projects and trigger other innovation processes in different ICT-intensive fields such as the transport sector.

Overview

Most of the cities are going through a gradually-increasing integration with the outer world that has meant new and disruptive socio-economic conditions which market and its players are yet striving to adapt well. For instance immigration, climate change and security are three core pending issues on both the local and global agendas.

Furthermore, emerging concepts such as sharing economy are not anymore a matter of the future. They are already here, being present now among all of us somehow. And they are fostering a fast change at all levels in different sectors, forcing all existing approaches to be re-thought.

For years the transport field has served as the right testing ground for new technological developments and results have been later replicated in other sectors.

In the light of the above, several stakeholders, with the Roads and Transport Authority of the Emirate of Dubai (RTA Dubai) (https://www.rta.ae/) as the 1st Honorary Founding Member of the Y4PT Foundation, have joined forces along with UITP, to organize the fourth edition of the world’s first ever transport hackathon, an open and collaborative space where people are called to contribute to solving major transport-related challenges while employing ICTs in an ingenious way.

Transport Challenges

Hackathon projects should contribute somehow to a ultimate goal, doubling public transport’s market share worldwide (PTx2): “UITP estimates that it would save around 170m tons of oil and 550m tons of CO2 equivalent; reduce urban traffic fatalities by 15%; double the number of jobs in public transport operators as well as reduce the risk of obesity and heart disease by 50% thanks to the greater role of walking, cycling and public transport.”

Moreover all projects should be in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the one addressing sustainable transport (Target 11.2): “By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons”.

A wide range of current and critical challenges faced by the transport sector as a whole will be addressed during the Hackathon, with public transport as the cornerstone of multimodal mobility solutions, in line with the Y4PT’s holistic point of view on sustainable transport.

Congestion
Urban Sprawl
Shared mobility
Road Safety
Active Travel
Urban Pollution (Air-related and others)
Security
Accessibility for Persons with Reduced Mobility
Combination of Passenger and Freight Transport
Intermodalilty
Health and Transport
Long-Haul Transport
Payment and Pricing
Weather Forecast and Climate Change
Electrification of Transport (Zero Emissions)

MENA region’s and Dubai’s specific transport challenges

Measuring and increasing happiness for public transport
Pedestrianization and non-motorized travel
Public transport optimize! Using data and technology to provide exemplary services with less resources
Public transport and neeting the climate challenge
School transport: smart innovations for safety and efficiency
Clean buses and e-mobility
Financing and governance of public transport in the context of slow economic growth
Safety and security in public transport
Mapping and understanding paratransit/hybrid/informal transport systems in MENA cities
Public transport into the future
Smart applications in MENA cities and mobility as a service (MaaS)
The future of taxis and ride hailing apps
Autonomous vehicles for public transport

Open Data

Currently different organizations in both public and private sectors have released a wide range of sets of databases, freely accessible to the general public, without restrictions on use.

In the case of the public sector, access to open data is one of the key principles of transparency and good governance, necessary for the control exercised by citizens on results of the performance of leaders and civil servants, as well as the effectiveness of public policy in different areas.

On the web there are different open data libraries:

RTA Dubai Open Data: https://www.rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/open-data
Dubai Municipality Open Data: https://www.dm.gov.ae/wps/portal/opendata
Emirate of Dubai Data: https://dubai-data.ae/
UAE Open Data: https://opendata.fcsa.gov.ae/
UAE GCAA Open Data: https://www.gcaa.gov.ae/en/pages/opendatalibrary.aspx

Hackers are advised to download in advance databases and to storage them in hard drives (or removable discs) to be used during the Hackathon.

Hacker’s Profile and Teaming-Up

The Hackathon is an event open to the general public (people over 18 only).

Hackers must demonstrate knowledge and/or experience in the transport field, as well as being capable to play roles such as:

Algorithm designers
Software programmers
User interface designers
Project managers (business development)
Marketers / Communicators

Each team will be made of up to five (5) members, ideally corresponding to each of the profiles above mentioned.
Hackers are free to choose if they want to run a project individually, or on the contrary, they want to teamed up with others.

English language must be the working language during the Hackathon.

Registration

Any person who is willing to participate as a hacker must fill out the online registration form in advance (NOTE: Registration is closed).

Those hackers who initially registered individually but would like to set up a team, on the first day of the Hackathon they can meet other hackers in the same situation.

Hackers must bring a valid official photo ID to enter to the Hackathon venue.

What should Hackers bring to the Hackathon?

The Hackathon venue will be provided with high-speed Internet access, tables, chairs, electric sockets, audiovisual equipment and other basic resources.

It is up to hackers to bring whatever they might need to develop their projects on-site.

Checklist might include the following tools:

Laptops and peripherals
Smartphone
Tablet
Smartwatch
Multi-socket extension
Ethernet Cables
Portable network switch
Portable router
Desktop Software
Digital camera
Video recording camera
Portable storage devices (e.g. USB flash memory)
Set of databases
Personal care products
- Towels
- Body wipes
- Toothpaste and toothbrush
Sleeping bags
Blankets and pillows

Prize

(Hint: Team leader from the best project will take part of other Y4PT-related international events)

Judging Criteria and Jury Panel

The winning project will be chosen by a select jury panel with extensive experience and knowledge in transport subjects.

Each submitted Hackathon project must be brand-new, unpublished (not having been showcased at past events) and in its entirety as well as each component, must be comprised of the team’s original work (third parties’ intellectual property must be properly credited according to the legal terms of these parties’ works).

Hackathon projects must clearly include an approximation of at least:

Algorithm
Code
Graphic interface
Business model

Judging Criteria

Design – User Experience
Scalability
Sustainability – Business Model
Use and re-use of Open Data
Technical Strength of Solution
Creativity and Innovation
Impact
Quality of the Pitch

Organizers

The Hackathon brings together the most important actors in the transport sector worldwide:

Roads and Transport Authority of the Emirate of Dubai (RTA Dubai) (https://www.rta.ae/): One of the most acknowledged and respected transport authorities in the world, RTA Dubai is the local government entity that regulates urban mobility in the whole Emirate.
International Association of Public Transport (UITP) (https://www.uitp.org/): With over 134 years of history, UITP is the only spokesperson for the public transport sector worldwide, representing the interests of all stakeholders, including authorities, operators, supply industry, academic-research centers, civil society, among others.
Youth For Public Transport (Y4PT) Foundation (https://www.y4pt.org/): Established more than 14 years ago by the UITP, Y4PT is the leading global youth network on sustainable transport.