AT&T Pushes Mobile Tech Innovation in NYC
Dear Friends,
As New Yorkers, we rely on the city’s extensive transit system.
AT&T continues to push the envelope for what’s possible with mobile technology, challenging individuals to tap into their creativity to develop apps that will improve the travel experience for everyone in New York City.
YoTrain! Wins Grand Prize in AppQuest 3.0
An app that notifies you when the next train will arrive before you even reach the station won the $10,000 grand prize in AT&T’s most recent tech challenge.
YoTrain! uses voice alerts to automatically notify riders when the next train will arrive when they are within half a block of any station pre-set in their app.
AT&T — along with the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), Transit Wireless and NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) — announced the winners of AppQuest 3.0, the third technology competition of this kind.
AppQuest 3.0 solicited the development of new mobile solutions designed to help improve commutes for millions of subway, bus and rail riders, with a specific focus on helping people with disabilities.
The teams utilized newly available real time data from the MTA, as well as new beacon technology in developing the apps. Forty-three teams from 10 countries submitted apps, with eight teams winning $50,000 in prizes.
Other winners included NYC Accessible, an app which provides riders with real time information through email and/or text messages about subway station accessibility, including elevator/escalator locations and outages, and Departures NYC, which allows an individual to obtain bus departure information by simply pointing their mobile device at the direction of a bus stop to get departure times displayed on their screen.
Next Stop: Wireless Subway Stations
In February 2015, 21 subway stations in Queens added wireless access, bringing nearly all of the borough’s 78 stations online. Transit passengers can make a call, send a text, or search the Internet from almost any station platform along their commute. The two remaining Queens stations, Jamaica-Van Wyck and Flushing–Main Street, are in the process of coming online. The Jamaica-Van Wyck station is expected to see the work completed by the end of March, and Flushing-Main Street station by the end of 2015. All 279 subway stations throughout NYC are expected to come online by 2017.
Tribeca Film for All
As the Presenting Sponsor for the Tribeca Film Festival for the second year in a row, AT&T is giving film lovers in NYC the chance to see a movie for free.
Hundreds of New Yorkers turned out for last year’s Film for All, and we are proud to open the doors for this program again this spring. From Monday, April 6th, to Thursday, April 9th, film fans can head to an AT&T store to register for two free tickets to the screening of their choice on Friday, April 24th (while supplies last*).
Each of the 60-plus participating company-owned AT&T retail stores across the five boroughs and New Jersey will provide ticket registration for Film For All Friday; New Yorkers can use the device on site or their phones to reserve tickets. In addition, rush tickets will be available on the day of the screenings on a first-come, first-served basis.
This day of free screenings is an opportunity for movie lovers to participate in this wonderful New York City festival.
*Between April 6 to April 9, 2015 (or while supplies last), the first 2,500 eligible participants that visit any participating AT&T retail store in NYC will receive two (2) complimentary tickets (same screening) to any regular or matinee films (excluding premieres) being screened at the Tribeca Film Festival® on April 24, 2015. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: AT&T Mobility, LLC. Terms available at: Filmforallnyc.com/tickets.
