Intendencia de Montevideo · Public sector
We created a proposal to redesign public transit in Montevideo
In response to a public challenge from the National Agency for Research and Innovation and the Municipality of Montevideo, we presented a proposal to improve the metropolitan transit system. The project, called STM+, focused on redesigning the entire system with a technology-first approach and was selected from more than 20 different proposals. Our solution included: passenger detection (boarding and alighting); real-time information (location and time remaining to the next stop or relevant destinations); and flexible payment methods (hardware upgrades, via phones, QR codes, or NFC technology). The city government hailed STM+ as a success. It also laid the groundwork for future rollouts across the transit system.
The challenge
ANII and the Municipality of Montevideo posed a public challenge to improve the metropolitan transit system. The goal was to modernize the passenger experience and the payment system, speeding up boarding and alighting, cutting paper use, and opening the door to digital payment methods. Any solution had to coexist with the transit system's existing infrastructure, so that modernizing would not force a wholesale replacement of everything already in operation.
The solution
We presented STM+, a proposal that redesigns the system with a technology-first approach and was selected from more than 20 proposals. The solution included passenger detection on boarding and alighting, real-time information on location and time to the next stop, and flexible payment methods via phones, QR codes, or NFC. We built it entirely on open platforms to guarantee compatibility with the existing infrastructure and to leave room to add new features in the future.
The impact
STM+ was tested live on real in-service buses and validated by the Municipality's authorities and technical staff, who deemed it a success. The project was recognized as project of the year by the Montevideo chapter of PMI and laid the groundwork for future rollouts across the transit system. Having been tested under real operating conditions showed the solution was viable beyond the lab, a key requirement for scaling an initiative of this kind.
