Artificial intelligence seen as an enabling technology
Verma: ‘AI means whatever you want it to mean’
Artificial intelligence featured prominently across multiple sessions at Transport Ticketing Global in London last week, with speakers broadly converging on its role as an enabling technology rather than a standalone solution.
In a session titled ‘Beyond AI: The Hard-Wiring of a Modern Transport System’, Worldline chief operating officer James Bain urged caution over how the technology is framed within the industry.
“We need to avoid the buzzword bingo,” he said. “AI is fundamentally changing how we embrace tech, but it is no different to the introduction for the internet or smartphone.”
Bain pointed to previous innovations that generated significant data but limited practical outcomes: “10 years ago everyone talked about barcode ticketing. It captured a lot of data but we’ve not really done anything with it.”
AI is fundamentally changing how we embrace tech, but it is no different to the introduction for the internet or smartphone
He also drew comparisons with legacy systems, referencing ORCATS – the long-standing revenue allocation platform developed by British Rail. “ORCATS was developed by British Rail in the 1970s,” he said. “It’s essentially just AI running on a very old code on a mainframe. AI runs on silicone chips in data centres, that’s all it is.”
A similarly pragmatic perspective was offered by Transport for London chief technology officer Shashi Verma, who highlighted the established use of machine learning within transport operations.
“AI is the buzzword but AI means whatever you want it to mean,” he said. “We’ve used machine learning since about 2009 in our asset management function. It’s not really applicable for payments, but there’s a role for it when it comes to data.”
For suppliers, the focus is increasingly on practical applications. Lalit Singh, Cubic Transportation Systems’ chief operating officer, said AI is already embedded in internal processes. “Internally we use AI a lot to test code,” he revealed. “But how can it improve the life of the end user, the customer?”
He pointed to operational use cases, including automating common passenger issues: “If you forget to tap out, AI can see you haven’t and solve the problem without the customer having to contact customer services.”
Meanwhile, Daniela Aubry, chief payments officer at Metrolinx, Ontario’s transportation agency, suggested the direction of travel is clear. “The future will be leveraging AI,” she said.
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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