The start-up businesses use AI to make transport systems smarter
Connected Places Catapult has named three organisations with AI-powered technology that have been awarded further funding to develop their business cases
The small to medium-sized enterprises selected participated in the ‘Smarter Transport Systems- AI in Transport’ competition, delivered by Catapult and funded by the Department for Transport.
The competition aims to utilise AI’s potential to digitalise and better integrate transport systems. Representatives from each of the three companies presented their innovations at the Connected Places Summit in London.
The selected companies and their innovations are:
- Kigo: Developers of the School-Run Optimiser, and an AI-powered mobility platform to help schools and local authorities optimise school-run travel, encourage walking and cycling, and enable safer shared journeys.
- MoniRail: Developers of a system that enables predictive maintenance of railway tracks by collecting data, using in-service trains, and applying AI to predict track degradation.
- Trackbase: Utilises Bayesian statistical AI models to assess the likely condition of rail assets using operational and asset data, enabling the identification of emerging failures before they impact train services.
Each organisation will receive £13,000 in additional funding to help develop their business cases, as well as support from the Catapult to identify and engage prospective clients.
The ‘Smarter Transport Systems-AI in Transport’ competition received 83 applicants, in which 23 organisations were shortlisted and received an initial £1000 to develop use case proposals.
Proposals developed by the shortlisted companies included systems focused on predictive maintenance, infrastructure intelligence, climate risk modelling, and operational optimisation, as well as solutions to improve reliability, safety, accessibility, efficiency, and inclusivity across the UK transport system.
Earlier this month, the three chosen companies participated in a pitch day, presenting their technology innovations as part of a group of eight businesses to a panel of four judges. They were: Lilian Greenwood MP, transport minister; Annette Pass, deputy chief scientific adviser at the Department for Transport; Justin Anderson, managing director for Data and Digital at Connected Places Catapult; and Vaibhav Puri OBE, director of Sector Strategy and Transformation at the Rail Safety and Standards Board.
Erika Lewis, CEO at Connected Places Catapult, said, “AI is one of the greatest economic opportunities of this decade. The data and AI economy will unlock new transport markets, boost productivity, and create high-value jobs across the UK. Smarter, data-driven systems will cut costs, improve performance, and accelerate growth for the wider economy. At Connected Places Catapult, we’re committed to helping UK businesses harness AI’s full potential to create and scale solutions that deliver real economic impact.”
