Ford and the City of Indianapolis are launching the Indianapolis City:One Challenge, a co-creation and crowdsourcing program for residents, businesses and community groups to propose and pilot solutions that improve mobility.
As cities like Indianapolis evolve and new technologies take shape, the way people move around is changing. Locally, city leaders are looking to encourage more people to use public transit by making it more accessible, efficient and affordable. With the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation, or IndyGo, the city aims to direct economic growth by building an inclusive and optimal mobility system through investments that improve transit service hours, update fare systems and introduce rapid transit this year.
The City:One Challenge is designed to complement the city’s efforts by facilitating a collaborative process with the community, offering residents the opportunity to share their experiences and suggest ideas for how to solve their most pressing mobility problems. The goal is to help improve the quality of life for Indianapolis residents and visitors through dynamic mobility options that complement the existing transportation system.
“Through this public-private partnership, residents will have the opportunity to weigh in on the future of public transportation in Indianapolis, making recommendations that will ultimately affect how they get to and from where they live, work and play,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. “A thriving city needs public transit that is reliable, affordable, and accessible to all, and we come much closer to these goals when we successfully engage the community and stakeholders in the conversation.”
Throughout the eight-month City:One Challenge program, those who live, work and play in Indianapolis are invited to explore dynamic mobility options focused around their top needs. Ford and Challenge partners also will assist with the community collaboration process and help support the challenge prize of up to $100,000 to fund pilots that test the top solutions.
Indianapolis is the first city to launch the City:One Challenge in 2019. Each challenge is tailored to the specific city or county and is focused on addressing its unique needs.
“At Ford, we believe that to fix mobility and transportation problems in a city, we must focus on one person, one solution at a time. When focusing on the individual, we can start to solve larger problems that affect the entire city and create greater access for everyone,” said Jeff Jones, vice president, Ford City Solutions. “That’s why it’s so important for everyone in the community to participate – our goal is to really understand the unique needs of Indianapolis by engaging residents, community groups and businesses in a way that leads to real improvement.”
Ford launched its city challenge platform in 2018 with Pittsburgh, Miami-Dade County and Grand Rapids, Mich. The three challenges resulted in ongoing pilots addressing issues ranging from long, inefficient student pickup lines at schools to safer transportation methods for night shift workers who must travel during non-traditional hours.
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SOURCE: Ford Motor Company
