RC120 SeptOct 2025 - Magazine - Page 26
TRANSPORTATION
3. Evaluate AI costs, risks and practicalities
Once you have identi昀椀ed the AI applications that will
help you solve your biggest pain points and achieve your
organizational goals, evaluate potential applications against
your organization’s typical prioritization criteria. Once
you’ve determined an impactful application that aligns
with your organization’s objectives, at a minimum, create a
checklist to make sure you consider:
COSTS
· Data preparation, storage and consumption
· AI tools and platforms – licensing and cloud computing
costs
· Upskilling sta昀昀
· Managing risks
· Managing users
RISKS Could this initiative introduce new risks that the
municipality can’t accept (e.g., data privacy issues)?
SKILLS Do you have employees and suppliers with the skills
and track record needed for implementation?
APPETITE Are teams and individuals excited to be involved?
Sta昀昀 need to be engaged early, so they can feel comfortable and
understand how it will help them in their work.
DATA Does the municipality have enough good-quality data
that can be kept in one location and accessed for analysis? If
not, how much time and cost will it take?
of it, in managing data. To this end, provide clarity on
data roles and responsibilities. For example, does your
implementation need a product owner responsible
for representing the customer needs and guiding a
development team?
EXPECTATIONS AND ACCOUNTABILITY Take a people-昀椀rst approach
to using data (public bene昀椀t versus exploitation). This will
reduce problems such as residents believing their data will
be used against them, such as data misuse to justify higher
rates or development costs.
SKILLS AND AWARENESS Make sure skilled personnel hold de昀椀ned
responsibilities for data collection and awareness, and ensure
all parties are aware of your data collection and use. This
approach reduces the likelihood of sensitive data being mistakenly used or exposed, or of data being misinterpreted.
COSTING AND BUDGETING Have a system for checking costs
related to AI, including operations and maintenance,
sta昀케ng costs, and power use. This information helps
make future decisions about implementing AI solutions
versus good basic data analytics. It is crucial to establish
key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and
measure the bene昀椀ts of these systems. This ensures that
decisions about implementing AI versus using basic data
analytics are well-informed, based on metrics such as cost
savings, e昀케ciency improvements, and overall system
impact.
PREPARING DATA Make sure new data is synched
with existing, and that it is stored in a
secure location. This preparation includes
understanding of legal and regulatory
measures regarding the storage and use of
personal data.
SEEING THE WHOLE, AND THE FUTURE Be clear about
how this solution 昀椀ts into a longer-term plan,
who will need to be involved in the long
term, and how it will help your municipality
achieve ambitious goals.
”Artificial Intelligence solutions have the power to create significant
benefits for communities. Many municipal transportation cases have
already shown quantitative benefits of AI solutions.”
With each of these considerations evaluated, you’ll be
able to appreciate the real cost of AI implementation, and its
overall value based on the bene昀椀t it provides.
4. Start small
Now that you’re armed with evidence that you have a
project that could reduce your pain points, the next step is
to identify a small pilot project.
First, decide your level of openness and transparency
with the public about the project and any data collected.
You have a compelling reason for the project (safety,
optimization, cost savings), which will be critical for their
support. Consider two-way engagement with your most
interested and a昀昀ected parties and create working groups
to break through challenges and build on good ideas.
There are seven important elements involved in the
successful implementation of any AI solution:
LEADERSHIP ENGAGEMENT It is critical to take your executive team
on the journey so that they can prioritize these e昀昀orts and
share their bene昀椀ts widely across all parties. This approach
helps prevent political agendas getting in the way of progress.
A TEAM-BASED APPROACH TO DATA GOVERNANCE Instill a culture where
employees are aware of their role, and the importance
26—RENEW CANADA –SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2025
5. Expand: Prepare your whole organization for AI and
data governance
The pilot will begin to give you a sense of the costs,
bene昀椀ts, and challenges of your solution. When
transitioning from a pilot to a wider implementation
for business as usual, key considerations include
organizational alignment, and funding. Data
governance, and engaging the whole organization,
are especially critical. To identify opportunities for
organizational alignment and governance, a data
mapping exercise can help all parts of the organization
have discussions about see the value and potential in
connecting their data.
Arti昀椀cial Intelligence solutions have the power to create
signi昀椀cant bene昀椀ts for communities. Many municipal
transportation cases have already shown quantitative
bene昀椀ts of AI solutions. Now is the time to invest in a path
forward. With a thoughtful approach in place, the right
investment in the right solution for the right reason can
further the strength, safety and/or e昀케ciency of municipal
transportation operations.
RENEWCANADA.NET
