Will AI replace Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity?
AI reaches little of this job’s work.
16/100
Low exposure
More exposed to AI than 29% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 0% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 33% of the work
What the job involves
Drive bus or motor coach, including regular route operations, charters, and private carriage. May assist passengers with baggage. May collect fares or tickets.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Within reach(5)
- Report delays or accidents.
- Advise passengers to be seated and orderly while on vehicles.
- Announce stops to passengers.
- Record information, such as cash receipts and ticket fares, and maintain log book.
- Read maps to plan bus routes.
Out of reach(9)
- Drive vehicles over specified routes or to specified destinations according to time schedules, complying with traffic regulations to ensure that passengers have a smooth and safe ride.
- Park vehicles at loading areas so that passengers can board.
- Assist passengers, such as elderly or individuals with disabilities, on and off bus, ensure they are seated properly, help carry baggage, and answer questions about bus schedules or routes.
- Handle passenger emergencies or disruptions.
- Regulate heating, lighting, and ventilating systems for passenger comfort.
and 4 more
Also called
Bus Operator · Coach Operator · Motor Coach Operator · Motor Coach Driver · Bus Driver · Charter Coach Driver · Interstate Bus Driver · Jitney Driver
Related jobs
- Bus Drivers, School17/100
- Subway and Streetcar Operators20/100
- School Bus Monitors18/100
- Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs17/100
- Taxi Drivers25/100
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics