Revolutionizing data

The Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) recently hosted three students from Miami Dade College as part of a six-week micro-internship called the EPIC Challenge. Students interested in participating sign up through Miami Dade Tech Works and are matched with local businesses based on their area of study and expertise.

 Through this program, three talented female data science students, Sally Posey, Betsy Sanchez, and Anabel Ferreiro Perez, were matched with DTPW and tasked with an EPIC Challenge focused on analyzing and interpreting the departments customer data. Their goal was to help increase ridership, reduce cash dependence, and prepare the system for a more modern, account-based fare system. 

“In our initial meeting with DTPW, they were in the midst of launching the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service and were exploring ways to consolidate data from multiple platforms into a centralized platform,” shared Sally.  “They were looking not only to consolidate the data, but also to create a visual tool that would continuously pull raw data from various platforms, analyze it, and publish it to a dashboard. 

Beginning their internship during the launch of the BRT service was equally challenging as it was exciting, allowing the interns to see firsthand the immediate need for the tool they were developing. “We needed to work quickly so DTPW leadership could use the dashboard to make necessary adjustments to the BRT service during this critical time,” added Anabel. “This also gave us the opportunity to recommend collecting additional key metrics that would allow the leadership team to take a more targeted approach to ridership and marketing decisions.” 

The trio got to work quickly, and in only five days, developed a functioning prototype that transformed the way the data was presented. Almost immediately, they began identifying patterns in rider behavior. “We observed, the continued reliance of cash payments at certain stations,” explained Betsy. “Strengthening digital adoption and encouraging greater use of contactless payments and the GO Miami-Dade Transit app can lead to faster boarding, cleaner data, and lower operational load overall.”

While analyzing the data was no easy task, it proved instrumental. Jarice Rodriguez, Chief of Paratransit Operations, shared, “They built a proof-of-concept web-based dashboard that integrates real-time and historical data to help us better understand rider behavior, improve the fare payment experience, and identify opportunities for operational enhancements.” She added, “They also identified activity trends, proposed targeted outreach strategies to educate customers on fare options, and proposed to use predictive models to detect equipment malfunctions.” 

This information would not only allow the team to use real-time data to make more informed decisions but would ultimately improve the rider experience. 

Doug Bermudez, Chief of EASY Card Fare Programs and Customer Experience Division, explained, “This will help us identify opportunities to better support riders through targeted marketing campaigns to educate riders on the benefits of fare capping and the value of owning an EASY Card.”

Although the internship has ended, Sally, Betsy, and Anabel have agreed to continue developing and enhancing the dashboard “Collectively, we have a vision for what the dashboard can do and look like. We do not want to only share that vision, we want to bring it to life and see the direct impact this has on our local community.”

Jarice summed it up best, “This is what an innovation incubator for local talent looks like.”

Keep THRIVING Sally, Betsy, and Anabel!