Tehran bus operator plans single-bus AI pilot

Tehran's bus operator is equipping a single bus with artificial intelligence technology to count passengers and give drivers precise information about distances between stops, its chief executive said.

The pilot in Iran’s capital will test tools intended to provide information to both drivers and the operator. Planned functions also include monitoring aspects of driver performance, such as speed.

Mehdi Alizadeh, chief executive of Tehran’s bus operator, told that the company had formed an AI committee and was equipping the bus at its Shahid Sattari facility.

Alizadeh said the operator was testing the use of AI in the bus’s refurbishment and operation. The system is intended to count passengers, inform drivers about distances between stops and supply information to the company.

The available details do not explain what AI technology is being used, how passengers will be counted or how the system will handle collected data. No supplier, cost or evaluation results have been disclosed in the announcement.

Alizadeh said the work was being tested on one bus. Once it is ready, the operator will announce further details publicly and through Shahrzad, a municipal services app. He did not give a date.