Roadify Wins Big at the NYC BigApps Competition!

Park Slope’s very own Roadify took home the gold last night at New York City’s second ever BiggApps competition.

The company won the Grand Prize and $10,000 for its free iPhone app, which uses crowdsourcing as well as sources like the MTA and Department of Transportation to give users updates on the status of any subway, bus, parking spot, or traffic crossing in the city.  

“We were blown away to win such an incredible honor last night at BigApps,” said Dylan Goelz, Head of User Experience for Roadify.

He added: “We owe a huge thanks to the people of Park Slope, where we got our start, who have been nothing but supportive in our efforts since day one. This app is for you and this win is because of you!”

A panel of jurors who included co-founders from Foursquare and Twitter, as well as city officials selected the Grand Prize. Roadify also scored second place in the award for Popular Choice (it was originally voted third place, but one of the winners were city employees, who are ineligible for cash prizes). Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented Roadify with the award.

The app works like this: if you’re waiting for the B61 bus, simply hit “Give A Bus” on the app once it comes. The app will record the time you spotted the bus, and Roadify users waiting further down the bus route can check to see if the bus is running on time.

The idea to add the crowd-sourcing component to the Roadify app really took hold during December’s post-Christmas blizzard, when Roadify was instrumental in keeping Slopers updated about which roads were plowed via their blog and Twitter.

Park Slope resident Nick Nyhan was first inspired to start Roadify after becoming frustrating circling for parking in the neighborhood. Nyhan, Goelz and Dan Robinson soon began collaborating on an idea for a company that would take the hassle and confusion out of getting reliable commuting conditions.

In the new iPhone app (the original app launch in November), users can also say “thanks” to other uses who provided helpful transit tips, gain “Street CARma” points for sharing information, and share information with non-Roadify users via Facebook and Twitter.

“The award belongs to the entire Roadify Community for helping make Roadify what it is today,” said Goelz.