C2SMART congratulates its students Reuben Juster and Assel Dmitriyeva on their success in the 4th Annual IATR Hackathon, sponsored by Curb Mobility. Participants were tasked with presented a “Smart Mobility Plan” involving innovative multi-modal mobility service and safety enhancements in Calgary, the host city for this year’s IATR Annual Conference. For their solution, which focused on decreasing the negative impacts of TNCs without limiting people’s mobility options, Assel and Reuben created a dynamic ride pairing system that would enhance Uber and taxi dispatch systems. In their Dynamic Ride Sharing System, individuals with the same origin point would be encouraged via an in-app popup to pair their trips if both can be conveniently served by a single vehicle.

As winners of the hackathon, Assel and Reuben will be attending the IATR conference in Calgary in September, where they will present their work. Reuben is currently a second year Ph.D. Candidate in Transportation Planning and Engineering at NYU Tandon. Assel recently graduated from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts and worked as a research assistant at C2SMART while completing her degree.