Codefest started as a small gathering of passionate developers that has evolved into TripSpark’s most anticipated annual celebration of coding and creativity. It’s less of a hackathon and more of a sandbox where bold and playful ideas can flourish without the pressure of immediate implementation. Our team of developers, product experts, and Codefest enthusiasts can experiment, take creative risks, and get feedback in a spirited yet supportive environment.

The Mountains Behind Codefest Magic

The Codefest team assembled for a four-day retreat in the majestic Canadian Rockies to explore what solutions could help transit agencies better serve riders.

Six teams tackled the challenge of transforming big ideas into tangible solutions. Despite racing against an ambitious timeline, they delivered impressive results with projects to resolve Customer Care cases faster, build more intuitive yet powerful tools for reporting and analytics, and accelerate myDrive MDT installations. Not bad for a group fueled by mountain air and determination!

The secret sauce? Team collaboration and just enough friendly competition to keep things interesting. Even better, some of these projects show potential to become real-world solutions that transit agencies can rely on in the future.

Beyond the Code

While technical innovation drives the event, Codefest’s true magic happens when departmental walls come down. The genuine connections that simply can’t be developed over calls on Teams or Slack threads.

Since the best ideas sometimes emerge outside of the boardroom, the team bonded through teambuilding activities and casual hangouts, such as scavenger hunts, trail hikes, gaming, and old school card games. And because the team that eats together innovates together, the Codefest organizers ensured everyone was well-fed, including a daily signature cocktail to keep spirits (and creativity) flowing.

These shared moments create lasting connections that strengthen our TripSpark community long after everyone returns home.

Cultivating Innovation from the Inside Out

Codefest embodies TripSpark’s commitment to continuous growth and improvement, proving that the most groundbreaking solutions often come from empowering the brilliant minds already on our team.

Who knows? The next revolutionary tool that transforms public transit might have been a spark of an idea formed during our mountain adventure. Stay tuned, folks, because innovation is always brewing at TripSpark!