Skip to main content

USDOT launches Smart City Challenge

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has partnered with Vulcan in the Smart City challenge to mayors and city leaders across America to integrate emerging technology into their transportation networks. The winning city will be awarded up to US$40 million from the US DOT (funding subject to future appropriations) to implement bold, data-driven ideas by making transportation safer, easier, and more reliable. In addition, Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan has announced its intention to award up to US$10 millio
December 9, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The 324 US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has partnered with Vulcan in the Smart City challenge to mayors and city leaders across America to integrate emerging technology into their transportation networks.

The winning city will be awarded up to US$40 million from the US DOT (funding subject to future appropriations) to implement bold, data-driven ideas by making transportation safer, easier, and more reliable.  In addition, Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan has announced its intention to award up to US$10 million to the US DOT winner of the challenge.  The winning city will need to work with Vulcan in order to secure this funding.

The Smart City Challenge builds on the USDOT’s Beyond Traffic draft report issued in February 2015.  This public-private collaboration represents the US DOT and Vulcan’s joint belief that creativity and innovation will be absolutely essential to meeting the significant transportation challenges of the future.  Lessons learned from this competition will be used in other cities to improve networks nationwide and demonstrate a practical path to replacing carbon-based fuel consumption.  US DOT welcomes the participation of other entities who share the vision and goals in the Notice of Funding Opportunity found here. (link www.transportation.gov/smartcity/nofo)

“This is an opportunity for the winning city to define what it means to be a ‘Smart City’ when it comes to transportation.  We encourage cities to develop their own unique vision, partnerships and blueprints to demonstrate to the world what a fully integrated, forward-looking transportation network looks like,” said US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.  “America can remain the global leader in maintaining the safest, most efficient system in the world: I am looking for Mayors who share that belief to join us in pushing the boundaries of what is possible.”

Interested cities should submit a high-level description of their vision of a Smart City by 4 February 2016, consistent with the Notice of Funding Opportunity.  US DOT will then announce five finalists in March 2016, who will then compete for up to US$40 million to be awarded to one city in June 2016. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • USDOT announces new Federal committee on automation
    January 12, 2017
    The US Department of Transportation is establishing a new advisory committee focused on automation across a number of modes. The committee, which includes leading professionals and experts, will immediately begin work on some of the most pressing and relevant matters facing transportation today, including the development and deployment of automated vehicles, and determining the needs of the Department as it continues with its relevant research, policy, and regulations. “During my time at the Department,
  • USDOT connected vehicle basics webinar announced
    April 3, 2014
    The Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Professional Capacity Building (PCB) Program's next T3 webinar, Connected Vehicle Basics will be held on Thursday, 24 April, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM ET. T3 webinars are interactive online meetings where subject matter experts present on a wide range of topics related to ITS planning, design, procurement, deployment, operations, noteworthy practices, and lessons learned. T3 Webinars are sponsored by the ITS PCB Program, which is a part of the ITS Joint Program Off
  • People to power reporting of weather-related road conditions
    November 28, 2013
    Citizen reporting offers the potential of gathering timely information about road conditions without the need to invest heavily in equipment or to dispatch inordinate numbers of staff to visit and report from various locations. What could be better than an army of motorists and other road users sending in reports of conditions they encounter on their journeys? Back in 2003, Wyoming DOT set up a system of enhanced citizen-assisted reporting as a way of gathering weather-related information on road conditi
  • US joint university team wins ITE’s transportation challenge
    August 28, 2018
    A joint team from the Universities of Texas, Wyoming and Kansas has won the first Transportation Technology Tournament organised by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). The winning project set out to address what it called “non-recurrent congestion challenges” in Washington, DC, such as increased traffic on days when the Washington Nationals baseball team played at home. The team worked with the District Department of Transportation (DoT) to develop real-time traveller information systems to