Can Miami’s Traffic Chaos Have an Antidote?

By: Ismael Rodriguez

A few of South Florida’s most renowned entrepreneurs are taking measures towards building mobility solutions to ease the infamous traffic-congested roads that clutter and burden our environment and economy.

These mobility solutions are currently undergoing a trial-run in Colombia by three Floridian entrepreneurs Rodrigo Arboleda, co-founder of One Laptop Per Child, Dr. Maurice Ferre’, co-founder of Mako Surgical, and Salim Ismail, founding executive director of Singularity University.

The three men have created a Miami-based nonprofit dubbed Fastrack Institute, which looks to launch a 16-week program to help address Miami-Dade’s transportation issues. The Knight Foundation, Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and real estate developer and investor Armando Codina have also decided to fund Fastrack Institute’s 16-week program.

The program will kickoff in Miami on Aug. 24 with a free daylong workshop open to the public.

At the workshop, these innovative businessmen will speak about their year-long experience in Medellin, Colombia, where Fastrack Institute has already launched eight startups that use technology for the sole purpose of minimizing urban problems in a fast, cost-effective manner.

“In Fastrack, what we have uncovered is a mechanism so that as you are investigating these technologies like solar or autonomous cars, you can ramp up the regulatory, legal and safety changes that need to be made as you are looking at the technology,” Ismail told the press last month. “We found with Fastrack we can solve a problem facing a city at about one-tenth the current cost, which makes it economically very compelling.”