Washington, D.C. – January 13, 2026 — INRIX, a leader in transportation analytics and the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), one of the oldest science think tanks in the U.S., today announced the launch of the 2026 INRIX x MetroLab Challenge to enable data-driven transportation innovation.Announced at the National Academies’ annual Transportation Research Board meeting, the  partnership supports cutting-edge research that advances positive, human-centered outcomes in cities. This will be the third iteration of the challenge.

The 2026 Challenge officially opens today, Tuesday, January 13, and will accept applications from universities across the country through March 3, 2026. The program invites teams of researchers and local government collaborators to propose innovative projects addressing real-world transportation, safety, equity, and resilience challenges using mobility data.

At least five selected teams will participate in the public-private partnership and receive free access to a suite of INRIX APIs for up to one year, enabling applied research with direct relevance to communities and policymakers.

“Over the past two years, our partnership with MetroLab has demonstrated the value of working directly with universities and local governments to address complex transportation challenges,” said Ahmed Darrat, Chief Product Officer at INRIX. “By providing researchers with access to real-world mobility data, we have seen how academic insight can be translated into practical solutions that help cities improve safety, resilience, and quality of life.”

Last year’s selected projects investigated improvements to AI-driven traffic models, road safety, and access to healthcare, among other benefits. 

“Collaboration is essential to translating research into meaningful impact for cities,” said Kate Garman Burns, FAS Director for State and Local Innovation. “We are excited to once again partner with INRIX to give researchers and local governments access to powerful mobility data and to support projects that put people, safety, and equity at the center of community innovation.”

Highlights from the 2025 INRIX x MetroLab Challenge

During the 2025 Challenge, finalist teams used INRIX data to explore a wide range of pressing urban issues, including:

• Validating and enhancing AI-driven traffic models for New York City through the fusion of INRIX data and more than 500 traffic cameras
  
• Evaluating the impact of automated speed cameras on driver behavior and roadway safety ahead of a statewide pilot program
  
• Identifying environmental contributors to crash hotspots to better protect cyclists, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users
  
• Examining vehicle abandonment patterns during wildfire evacuations to inform emergency response planning
  
• Analyzing driver behavior under congestion pricing using origin-destination trip data
  
• Improving disaster evacuation planning by predicting sudden traffic surges and adjusting transit services in real time
  
• Assessing how tornado warnings influence driving behavior and traffic flow to support emergency planning
  
• Designing patient-centered rural transportation services to improve healthcare access
  
• Identifying the most dangerous roadways by combining traffic volume data with fatal crash records to quantify risk disparities
  

Complete information on eligibility, the application process, available datasets, and example research questions is available at fas.org/initiative/inrix.

Researchers and local government partners are encouraged to share the Challenge broadly and submit applications over the next seven weeks. For questions, contact metrolab@fas.org.

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ABOUT INRIX

Founded in 2004, INRIX pioneered the practice of managing traffic by analyzing data not just from road sensors, but also from vehicles. This breakthrough approach enabled INRIX to become one of the leading providers of data and insight into how people move around the world. More information at inrix.com.

ABOUT FAS

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) works to advance progress on a broad suite of contemporary issues where science, technology, and innovation policy can deliver transformative impact, and seeks to ensure that scientific and technical expertise have a seat at the policymaking table. Established in 1945 by scientists in response to the atomic bomb, FAS continues to bring scientific rigor and analysis to address national challenges. More information about FAS work at fas.org.

Updated below

The government will no longer refuse to confirm or deny that persons who are prevented from boarding commercial aircraft have been placed on the “No Fly List,” and such persons will have new opportunities to challenge the denial of boarding, the Department of Justice announced yesterday in a court filing.

Until now, the Government refused to acknowledge whether or not an individual traveler had been placed on the No Fly List and, if so, what the basis for such a designation was. That is no longer the case, the new court filing said:

“Under the previous redress procedures, individuals who had submitted inquiries to DHS TRIP [the Department of Homeland Security Traveler Redress Inquiry Program] generally received a letter responding to their inquiry that neither confirmed nor denied their No Fly status.”

“Under the newly revised procedures, a U.S. person who purchases a ticket, is denied boarding at the airport, subsequently applies for redress through DHS TRIP about the denial of boarding, and is on the No Fly List after a redress review, will now receive a letter providing his or her status on the No Fly List and the option to receive and/or submit additional information.”

If the individual traveler chooses to pursue the matter, DHS “will provide a second, more detailed response. This second letter will identify the specific criterion under which the individual has been placed on the No Fly List and will include an unclassified summary of information supporting the individual’s No Fly List status, to the extent feasible, consistent with the national security and law enforcement interests at stake.”

The new redress procedures were developed in response to legal challenges to the No Fly List procedures, which argued that the procedures were constitutionally deficient or otherwise improper. The notice of the new procedures was filed yesterday in the pending lawsuit Gulet Mohamed v. Eric H. Holder, Jr., which is one of the ongoing lawsuits over the No Fly List.

“A number of travelers who dispute any connection to terrorism have alleged that they have been denied boarding on commercial aircraft,” a recent Congressional Research Service report noted. “A denial of entry can occur, for example, when a person’s name and/or date of birth correspond or are similar to the identity of someone in the government’s watchlist database.”

The CRS report, which predates the newly announced procedures, reviewed many of the legal issues involved. See The No Fly List: Procedural Due Process and Hurdles to Litigation, April 2, 2015.

Update: DHS TRIP has received and processed more than 185,000 redress requests and inquiries — regarding enhanced screening, delays, or denials of boarding — since 2007, DHS told the House Homeland Security Committee in a September 2014 hearing.

Update 2: A similar notice regarding changes in the No Fly List redress procedures was filed in several other pending lawsuits, including Latif v. Holder, in which a court found the previous process unconstitutional. In its filing in that case, the Justice Department added: “The Government will be closely monitoring the initial implementation of these newly revised procedures on an interagency basis, and will, as circumstances warrant, consider whether further revisions to the process are necessary. The revised procedures will be discussed in more depth in Defendants’ upcoming summary judgment briefing.”