Lab by Transport for Wales
Introduction
We’re supporting entrepreneurs, start-ups and scale-ups to develop ideas that benefit the rail sector and customer experience.
Well-being goals
Ways of working
2019/20
Lab by Transport for Wales is Wales’ leading rail innovation programme that seeks to support ambitious start-up companies with their innovative ideas and solutions that can benefit rail and its customers in a socially, culturally and environmentally friendly way. We’ll be running multiple 12-week accelerator programmes that bring tech start-ups and their ideas from all over the UK into Wales. We hope the programme will also help to both boost local economies and safeguard Welsh jobs in the future.
At the end of these accelerator programmes, the start-ups will pitch their product to key stakeholders and decision makers from Transport for Wales. Successful pitches will be awarded a contract to finish the development of their product and then launch it across our network.
The innovation lab
he innovation lab aims to transform our railway into one that’s fit for the future by bringing us new, innovative ideas that help us to encourage people out of their cars and into an integrated public transport system that both enables and encourages active travel.
One example of an environmentally conscious idea from this year’s first group of cohorts in our accelerator programme is a solar-powered smart bench The bench will enable customers to use renewable energy to charge their phones whilst simultaneously being able to access the built in WiFi, helping to promote an integrated, future-proof transport network. If successful, these benches will also further improve the station environment with the provision of LCD display screens that can be used to display the most up-to-date information for our customers.
We’ve been so impressed with the high calibre of ideas that have been pitched to us over this stage of the programme. This has made our job of selecting the best start-ups for cohort 1 extremely tough. The Lab offers a chance to celebrate this local talent. Importantly, it also presents the opportunity to develop and fast track any new ideas that can make a meaningful difference to passenger experience across our network.
Michael Davies
Insight and Innovation Manager
