Operate subway or elevated suburban trains with no separate locomotive, or electric-powered streetcar, to transport passengers. May handle fares.
U.S. Workers
9,200
Median Salary
$84,830
10-Year Growth
+3.4%
Annual Openings
900
Typical entry: High school diploma or equivalent
12 of 12 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Operate controls to open and close transit vehicle doors.
AI: Fully automatable - Door control is routinely automated and can be fully managed by AI integrated with vehicle control systems.
Drive and control rail-guided public transportation, such as subways, elevated trains, and electric-powered streetcars, trams, or trolleys, to transport passengers.
AI: Fully automatable - Rail-guided transit is well-suited to automation and many systems already operate driverlessly, so AI can fully perform driving and control functions.
Regulate vehicle speed and the time spent at each stop to maintain schedules.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated train operation systems already control speed and dwell times to adhere to schedules, so AI can fully manage this task.
Report delays, mechanical problems, and emergencies to supervisors or dispatchers, using radios.
AI: Fully automatable - Detection systems plus automated messaging or TTS radios enable AI to report delays, mechanical issues, and emergencies to dispatchers routinely and reliably.
Make announcements to passengers, such as notifications of upcoming stops or schedule delays.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated announcement systems using AI/TTS already make stop notifications and delay messages to passengers without human intervention.
Collect fares from passengers, and issue change and transfers.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated fare collection systems and validators can fully collect fares and issue change/transfers in most operational contexts.
Record transactions and coin receptor readings to verify the amount of money collected.
AI: Fully automatable - Electronic transaction logging and sensor-readings can automatically record transactions and coin-receptor data and reconcile amounts without human intervention.
Monitor lights indicating obstructions or other trains ahead and watch for car and truck traffic at crossings to stay alert to potential hazards.
AI: Partial - Computer vision and sensors can detect lights and many obstructions, but reliably handling all street-level hazards and complex mixed-traffic situations remains partially unresolved.
Direct emergency evacuation procedures.
AI: Partial - AI can coordinate communications, provide protocols, and guide evacuations, but real-time leadership, complex human behavior management, and on-site judgement generally require humans.
Complete reports, including shift summaries and incident or accident reports.
AI: Partial - AI can generate shift summaries and draft incident reports from logs and inputs, but finalization, accountability, and sensitive judgement typically require human review.
Greet passengers, provide information, and answer questions concerning fares, schedules, transfers, and routings.
AI: Partial - AI can handle automated announcements and answer fare/schedule questions via chat/voice systems, but cannot fully replicate in-person situational awareness and human rapport.
Attend meetings on driver and passenger safety to learn ways in which job performance might be affected.
AI: Partial - AI can ingest meeting materials, summarize safety guidance, and flag relevant changes, but cannot replace an operator's required in-person participation and experiential learning.