Why it’s more important than ever to hack at Apps for Philly Transportation

Code for Philly is hosting its fourth annual Apps for Philly Transportation hackathon next month, inviting developers and other civic-minded Philadelphians to develop projects that could improve transportation in the city.

In light of the tragic Amtrak derailment earlier this month, Code for Philly co-organizer Lloyd Emelle wrote in a blog post that it’s more important than ever to participate in this kind of event.

“Sadly, it seems, our aging infrastructure is not keeping pace with demand for, what seems like, simple technological improvements to certain things,” he wrote. “The cost of keeping things running safely, alone, is more than we can afford.”

But, he said: “It turns out the power to improve things isn’t all in the hands of the transit companies or big government. With a bit of ingenuity, time and computing power, we, the people, can provide patches to the system.”

The hackathon will be held June 5-7 at SEPTA headquarters, with a brainstorming session at 30th Street Station on Friday.

One of the projects that came out of Apps for Philly Transportation was Unlock Philly, the Philly Geek Awards-nominated app that helps users locate wheelchair accessible stations, trains and buses.