In a region where technologists at companies such as Uber, Lyft, Tesla and Google are trying to disrupt transportation, a growing community of civic hackers is working on innovating Silicon Valley’s existing public transportation system.

On Saturday, as part of National Day of Civic Hacking, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority – known as VTA – is hosting “Hack My Ride 2.0,” a hackathon that brings together both techies and non-techies to create tools and apps to enrich the public transit experience. The idea is to see how technology could be used to increase transit ridership and help people make the switch from driving to another form of transit, according to Cody Kraatz, VTA’s administrator of digital communications. VTA provides bus, light rail and paratransit services across Silicon Valley’s Santa Clara County, which is home to more than 1.8 million people.

The June 6 event kicks of a three-month challenge to form teams and create a working software application that uses a VTA data set. Projects will be judged for quality, implementation and potential impact. Knight Foundation is supporting this year’s “Hack My Ride 2.0” initiative with $15,000. A total of $30,000 in prizes will be awarded, including a $10,000 grand prize.

This year’s participants are especially encouraged to think of ways to use beacon technology, which VTA will be testing on a limited scale. Beacons are small wireless devices that can transmit data to mobile devices. Kraatz said it will be helpful to hear from citizen hackers about how to make use of beacon technology for transportation. One such application, he explained, could use beacons to validate whether someone is riding for a rewards system.

Last October, VTA held the first version of the Hack My Ride event, which brought together almost 50 participants and generated 10 projects. The winning project was an app focused on a ridership rewards program, similar to what you might find with airlines or retailers. Kraatz said that idea is actually moving forward: This summer a beta form of the concept will be tested with express bus riders.

Be aware that you don’t have to be a coder to participate in Hack My Ride. Kraatz said it’s for anyone who has a passion for transportation and wants to make it work better in Santa Clara County.

“It’s really been interesting to see how passionate the members of the community are about doing what they can do, providing their ideas and their talents to make transportation work better,” Kraatz said.

Kalen Gallagher, co-founder of Code for San Jose, one of the event’s sponsors, said Saturday’s hackathon will not only be a place to work on something big but also a place that builds community. He said the best part is meeting “people who live in your city and live in your community who you would never meet otherwise.”

The innovation doesn’t just end on Saturday or after the three-month challenge period. Kraatz said an ongoing dialogue between the public and the VTA is necessary to innovate: discussing how to use data sets, understanding what the public wants and educating the public on how transit works.

This transportation challenge comes at a time when the Bay Area is experiencing a technology boom, leading to increased growth from San Francisco to San Jose. The Bay Area is projected to add 2.1 million new residents and 1.1 million new jobs over the next 25 years, according to SPUR. San Jose was largely developed with a suburban structure focused around the car – something the city is actively working to change. An urban transformation is underway, supported by Knight Foundation, and it includes efforts to build transit-oriented developments and urban villages.

In addition to Knight Foundation, VTA and Code for San Jose, Microsoft, The Tech Museum of Innovation and Joint Venture Silicon Valley are also sponsors of the Hack My Ride 2.0 event.

Vignesh Ramachandran is a Bay Area-based freelance writer. He can be reached via email at [email protected].

How to get involved

This Hack My Ride 2.0 launch event is on Saturday, June 6, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It takes place at The Tech Museum’s Design Challenge Learning Institute, 145 W. San Carlos St., San Jose, Calif. 95113. Register online. Tickets are free, but the event requires a $22.09 deposit that will be fully refunded after you participate.

Submissions for the Hack My Ride 2.0 challenge open on June 6 and are accepted through Sept. 17. That will be followed by a public voting and judging period. The winners will be announced Oct. 21.