_{This might be uncomfortable…}

I'm going to say something that might sound dramatic: adopting AI in transit is an existential decision.

Not "important." Not "strategic." Existential.

I recently read a pre-publication piece with this core observation: we keep assuming transit funding will materialize, because the alternative is unimaginable. But the unimaginable happened in the UK, and unimaginable things are happening every day in America. BART is hedging for a full system shutdown as SEPTA stares down a cliff. The COVID relief funds expire at the end of 2026. The funding fairy… might not be coming.

So what will separate the agencies that survive from the ones that don't? Those who increase their ridership per public dollar spent. That's the story you tell elected officials on both sides of the aisle because it captures efficiency and impact in one number. It's the argument for your continued existence. And this is a critical distinction from ridership per operational dollar. We need to make overhead more impactful, and bring real outcomes to your community faster than we have been.

AI is the unlock.

I don’t mean AI as a pilot project your IT department is "exploring," but AI as an organizational capability. The capacity to do more—better—with the same resources is happening right now in agencies I work with: planners testing ten service scenarios in the time it used to take to test one; grants team pursues funding opportunities in days instead of months; researching, evaluating, procuring, and implementing a cost-saving technology in weeks instead of years.

So here's my ask: stop waiting. You don't need a perfect AI strategy. You don't need a committee or a twelve-month implementation plan. You need a policy that says "experiment safely," people brave enough to use it, and a culture that encourages it. I've written before about what a successful AI policy looks like — two guardrails and a green light.

The clock is running and the money is shrinking. But the technology is sitting right in front of you.

Be urgent.

TransitGPT is where I share practical AI insights for transit leaders. Subscribe if this resonates or forward to a colleague who needs it. And hit reply — I read everything.

Go shatter your glass ceiling.