AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 19-3099.01
Will AI replace Transportation Planners?
Transportation Planners: AI can already handle 11 of 22 tasks; the work mostly needs a frontier-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 22 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Transportation Planners, from most to least exposed. 11 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare reports or recommendations on transportation planning. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Analyze information from traffic counting programs. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Define or update information such as urban boundaries or classification of roadways. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Direct urban traffic counting programs. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Interpret data from traffic modeling software, geographic information systems, or associated databases. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Evaluate transportation project needs or costs. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Review development plans for transportation system effects, infrastructure requirements, or compliance with applicable transportation regulations. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Produce environmental documents, such as environmental assessments or environmental impact statements. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Prepare or review engineering studies or specifications. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Evaluate transportation-related consequences of federal or state legislative proposals. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Recommend transportation system improvements or projects, based on economic, population, land-use, or traffic projections. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Define regional or local transportation planning problems or priorities. | Estimated | Standard | |
| 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. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Collaborate with engineers to research, analyze, or resolve complex transportation design issues. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Develop computer models to address transportation planning issues. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Analyze information related to transportation, such as land use policies, environmental impact of projects, or long-range planning needs. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Design transportation surveys to identify areas of public concern. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Collaborate with other professionals to develop sustainable transportation strategies at the local, regional, or national level. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Prepare necessary documents to obtain planned project approvals or permits. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Develop or test new methods or models of transportation analysis. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Design new or improved transport infrastructure, such as junction improvements, pedestrian projects, bus facilities, or car parking areas. | Estimated | Frontier | |
| Represent jurisdictions in the legislative or administrative approval of land development projects. | Estimated | Standard |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 22 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 22 of 22. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 100% of the work is something AI can address at some tier.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 37,100
- Median annual wage
- $101,110
- Middle half of earners
- $80,860 to $129,960
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- -1.7%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034. BLS publishes these figures by SOC code, so O*NET occupations that share a SOC code show the same figures.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Transportation Engineers 76% skill overlap, about 9 months to move Exposure51
- Urban and Regional Planners 71% skill overlap, about 10 months to move Exposure56
- Traffic Technicians 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure39
- Logistics Analysts 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure60
- Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers 60% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure62
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Transportation Planners and AI
Will AI replace Transportation Planners?
AI already handles 11 of the 22 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 59 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by -1.7% from 2024 to 2034.
What is the AI exposure of Transportation Planners?
59 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 22 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 22 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Transportation Planners tasks can AI already do?
The tasks with the highest exposure are: Prepare reports or recommendations on transportation planning; Analyze information from traffic counting programs; Define or update information such as urban boundaries or classification of roadways. They are three of the 11 tasks that reach 60 or more.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A frontier-tier model or lower covers 100% of the role's importance-weighted task work. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Transportation Planners, and what do they earn?
37,100 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $101,110 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -1.7% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Transportation Planners. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/transportation-planners
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