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TfL has selected these six London startups to help it reduce congestion in the capital

Transport for London (TfL) has teamed up with Nitrous, the Tech City Ventures initiative aimed at promoting collaboration between startups and local government, on a new three-month innovation initiative that could help reduce congestion on London’s thronging streets.

Taking part in the inaugural programme are six London-based startups who will work with the transport authority on a range of masterclasses, mentoring sessions and networking opportunities, as they test market viability and forge new short and long-term collaborations.

Those selected from ‘several hundred’ applicants include a cycling navigation platform, a machine learning-powered smart city company and a zero-emissions bicycle delivery startup, who will all be working on solutions to lessen the strain on London’s beleaguered roads, promote cycling and public transport use, and (hopefully) lessen pollution in the process.

Perhaps most promisingly for the businesses involved is the possibility of gaining an audience with C-level executives from major firms including Vodafone, Aston Martin and IBM, who will be on hand to provide advice and guidance, and be given early access to new technologies.

George Johnston, Chief Executive Officer of Tech City Ventures, commented: “Tackling mobility is critical to London’s growth and something we all experience first-hand whilst navigating the capital.

“It’s an exciting place to begin in the smart city model and we’re excited to be working with the world’s leading transport authority to make an impact.”

Stuart Reid, Director of Travel Demand Management at Transport for London, said that the programme was just one of a number of measures that the transport body was looking into so that it can make better use of its open data sets.

He said: “As London grows and changes, we are continually looking for new ways to help our customers and extract better value from our open-data feed. I look forward to seeing the innovation and ideas that these startups generate and develop throughout this exciting initiative.”

The startups in detail

Holborn’s Alchera Technologies has been developed by researchers at Cambridge University and UCL and utilises machine learning and computer vision sensing tech to provide real time data and insights on a city-wide level.

Startup Blubel is developing a smart bicycle bell that hooks up to smartphone via bluetooth to direct cyclists towards safer routes based on community recommendations and input.

Carpool firm Faxi aims to cut down on needless commutes by encouraging ridesharing and carpooling through incentivised rewards such as priority parking, and organisational tools through its app.

Deptford’s NumberEight is the first of two participating startups utilising artificial intelligence (AI) to fuel its innovations. The firm is developing contextual intelligence software which works in tandem with Internet of Things (IoT) devices to help tailor user experiences depending on the circumstances.

Much like Deliveroo, Jinn and other rivals, Pedals is an on-demand delivery service operating in London, except its focus is providing zero-emissions, same-day delivery with a focus on the more personal touch of so-called ‘human-to-human’ delivery.

The sixth and final participating startup is TravelAI, the Fitzrovia-based company that, as the name suggests, utilises AI and machine learning techniques to analyse crowdsource travel behaviour data to provide transport professionals with analytics across all transport modes.

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