SmartTO Client Impact Stories highlight how Ontario-based innovators are advancing smart mobility and related sectors with support from SmartTO, the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) ecosystem, as well as our valued partners at Centennial College and YSpace. Each story showcases the venture’s journey, key challenges, measurable progress, including Technology Readiness Level (TRL) growth and the role SmartTO and its partners played in accelerating their path to commercialization.
About TraffMobility
The concept of the “15-minute community” is gaining traction in urban planning, a model where essential services are all accessible within a short walk, bike ride, or transit trip. When implemented, this approach can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, cut traffic congestion, encourage active transportation, and improve overall quality of life.
TraffMobility, co-founded by Tavia Chow, is a Toronto-based transportation consulting and technology firm that helps governments, transit agencies, and organizations make better data-driven decisions. Beyond its consulting services, the team is developing a planning tool to measure how close neighborhoods are to becoming 15-minute communities and to guide cities on where to focus infrastructure and policy investments.
Transportation data is often complex, siloed, and difficult for non-specialists to interpret. TraffMobility’s goal is to make analysis intuitive and accessible, so anyone, from municipal planners to community members, can understand the implications from a transportation perspective. By turning raw data into actionable insight, the platform helps cities not only track progress toward 15-minute communities but also realize the environmental and social benefits these neighborhoods can deliver.
SmartTO Programs Engaged
Applied Technical Project (ATP)
The Challenge
Bringing this vision to life wasn’t easy. In the early stages of the pandemic, Tavia and her co-founders made a pivotal decision: they left their full-time jobs to launch TraffMobility in January 2021. As a startup in its first years, the company faced two major barriers: limited resources and technical capacity.
The team could sketch proof-of-concept ideas but lacked the funding and backend expertise to build a scalable interactive tool. Without additional support, the project risked stalling at the concept phase (TRL 2–3) rather than advancing toward commercialization.
SmartTO Support
Tavia’s connection to academic expertise traces back to her master’s at York University, where Lassonde School of Engineering Professor, Dr. Mehdi Nourinejad served on her thesis committee. Afterward, he introduced her to SmartTO, where through the Applied Technical Project (ATP) program the team developed a Python playbook. This playbook automated the analysis of transportation and accessibility data, turning raw numbers into clear insights municipalities could act on.
The support received from this ATP enabled TraffMobility to advance from an early-stage concept (TRL 2–3) to a validated prototype (TRL 5), creating a tool municipalities could actually test and refine. By providing access to researchers, computing expertise, and strategic guidance, SmartTO accelerated the company’s journey from idea to real-world impact.
“I always wanted to create something that could shape more sustainable, connected communities. SmartTO made that possible. They didn’t just support us, they accelerated us by connecting us with researchers who helped turn our idea into a tool that cities can actually use.”
Tavia Chow, Co-Founder & Director of Planning, TraffMobility
Key Support Areas
Concept to Prototype
With SmartTO’s support, TraffMobility advanced from early-stage concept (TRL 2) to a validated prototype (TRL 5). Access to York University’s research expertise provided the technical depth needed to make the platform real and testable.
Research & Technical Collaboration
Tavia worked directly with researchers at the Lassonde School of Engineering, who played a key role in validating the platform’s technical foundations and aligning it with municipal needs. This collaboration accelerated product development and ensured the solution could move toward real-world application.
Product Development Acceleration
SmartTO supported Tavia in moving from concept to implementation by providing applied research capacity and technical expertise. SmartTO’s resources allowed her to transform an early concept into a functional prototype that municipalities could begin testing.
Stakeholder Engagement
SmartTO expanded TraffMobility’s access to Ontario’s mobility ecosystem, connecting Tavia with researchers, associations, and potential municipal partners to validate assumptions and prepare for pilots. As a woman leader in transportation, she also found support through WTS (Women’s Transportation Seminar), a community that uplifts women across the industry.
Looking Ahead
With a functional prototype in place, TraffMobility’s next milestone is to refine the tool so municipalities can apply it at the neighborhood scale. The vision is for cities like Toronto to use it to identify investment priorities, test policy scenarios, and ultimately build more sustainable, connected, and livable communities.
TraffMobility is seeking municipal and industry partners interested in piloting the tool and shaping its next phase of development. By working together, the company hopes to turn the emerging concept of the 15-minute community into a practical framework for urban planning across Ontario and beyond.