After announcing a smart cities initiative in early May, the City of Toronto is making good on its goal to become a more tech-friendly city.
“[This means] using technology to improve the way we serve people and conduct our business as a municipal government,” Toronto mayor John Tory said at the time. “It means learning from the data we have and measuring the work we do. But it also means committing to a bold vision of Toronto as a place that collaborates, that innovates, and that uses modern tools and approaches.”
In the past few weeks, the city has announced partnerships with local tech companies as part of this effort. Most recently, the city announced a partnership with Kitchener-based Miovision to provide analysis on its Bloor bike lane year-pilot project. As the city wants to measure the impact of cycling infrastructure along a busy downtown street, it’s leveraging Miovision technology to track traffic counts and anomalies like sudden decelerations that could identify where close calls between cars and cyclists have occurred. Miovision will also work with the University of Toronto’s Transportation Research Institute
In July, Ritual became a ticket purchase option for the Toronto Island Ferry for the month of August, and creating express kiosks for those who purchase tickets through the app.
“Toronto Island Park is one of our most beloved destinations for residents and visitors of all ages,” Tory told StartUpHERE. “As demand continues to grow, we want people to have fast, convenient options to purchase ferry tickets, and I’m happy to work with Ritual to improve the ferry experience.”
