AI exposure: Transportation Planners
Prepare studies for proposed transportation projects. Gather, compile, and analyze data. Study the use and operation of transportation systems. Develop transportation models or simulations.
Reading this score
computed48.3% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Transportation Planners at the 87th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 3.0 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 22 tasks it averages 2.14 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Analyze information from traffic counting programs, at 86.7%. The least is Represent jurisdictions in the legislative or administrative approval of land development..., at 4.2%. A gap of 82.5% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within life, physical and social science occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 60 roles in the group is 35.8%, and only 3 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 22 tasks, 19 are currently banded exposed, 2 assisted and 1 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
22 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze information from traffic counting programs. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 3.85 | exposed |
| Prepare reports or recommendations on transportation planning. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.22 | exposed |
| Prepare or review engineering studies or specifications. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.65 | exposed |
| Interpret data from traffic modeling software, geographic information systems, or associated databases. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 4.05 | exposed |
| Evaluate transportation project needs or costs. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 3.95 | exposed |
| Prepare necessary documents to obtain planned project approvals or permits. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 3.78 | exposed |
| Define regional or local transportation planning problems or priorities. | 58.3% | 29.2% | 12.5% | 4.35 | exposed |
| Design transportation surveys to identify areas of public concern. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.05 | exposed |
| Recommend transportation system improvements or projects, based on economic, population, land-use, or traffic projections. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.15 | exposed |
| Produce environmental documents, such as environmental assessments or environmental impact statements. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.74 | exposed |
| Define or update information such as urban boundaries or classification of roadways. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.33 | exposed |
| Participate in public meetings or hearings to explain planning proposals, to gather feedback from those affected by projects, or to achieve consensus on project designs. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.28 | exposed |
| Collaborate with engineers to research, analyze, or resolve complex transportation design issues. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.20 | exposed |
| Analyze information related to transportation, such as land use policies, environmental impact of projects, or long-range planning needs. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 4.10 | exposed |
| Collaborate with other professionals to develop sustainable transportation strategies at the local, regional, or national level. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.95 | exposed |
| Review development plans for transportation system effects, infrastructure requirements, or compliance with applicable transportation regulations. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.79 | exposed |
| Evaluate transportation-related consequences of federal or state legislative proposals. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.53 | exposed |
| Develop computer models to address transportation planning issues. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.11 | exposed |
| Develop or test new methods or models of transportation analysis. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 3.56 | exposed |
| Design new or improved transport infrastructure, such as junction improvements, pedestrian projects, bus facilities, or car parking areas. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.44 | assisted |
| Direct urban traffic counting programs. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.06 | assisted |
| Represent jurisdictions in the legislative or administrative approval of land development projects. | 4.2% | 20.8% | 75.0% | 3.23 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 3.02 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.23 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.66 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.18 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.14 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.95 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.