For the past year, Christian Riddell, CEO of TBN, an industry technology company, has been warning that artificial intelligence-enabled search results are changing how customers find transportation services — and who ultimately controls the customer relationship.

Riddell has shown that this shift is already giving brokers, or intermediaries, an edge when customers are searching online. If operators do not respond, he said, the long-term impact could be catastrophic and mirror what has already happened in other industries, including trucking.

"The consumers are now going to the brokers, in many cases, not knowing they are. As that happens more and more, brokers are controlling the prices customers pay and what operators get paid," Riddell said.

As AI tools increasingly shift search results from lists of sites where people could go to find answers to providing answers directly in the search, the rules of visibility are changing, forcing operators to rethink how they compete for........................

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While funding remains the primary concern, The Bus Coalition's leaders acknowledged that other issues, including fleet modernization, spare ratio requirements, and propulsion technology, are also top of mind for members. | Photo: WMATA/Larry Levine via Metro

  From Metro:

In a recent episode of METROspectives, leaders from The Bus Coalition (TBC) — Executive Director Ed Redfern, President Corey Aldridge, and Washington Representative Joel Rubin — joined METRO Magazine's Executive Editor Alex Roman to discuss the organization's evolving role and its priorities heading into a pivotal federal surface transportation reauthorization year.

The Bus Coalition's Ongoing Goals

Founded in 2013 amid significant changes to federal transit funding, TBC has grown from 17 founding members to more than 900 members and supporters across all 50 states. Despite that growth, its mission has remained consistent.

"Our core mission remains the same," Aldridge said. "Our focus is on bus and bus facilities funding, which remains extremely important, if not even more important than when we began."

The coalition was originally formed in response to reductions in discretionary funding, which many small and mid-sized transit systems rely on for major capital purchases. That funding focus remains central today, particularly as Congress prepares for the next surface transportation reauthorization..........................

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​ostcrash photographs show the left-front view of the dump truck (left) and the left-rear view of the school bus (right). The left front of the SUV can also be seen
adjacent to the roadway centerline (right).  |  Photo courtesy of Tennessee Highway Patrol/NTSB via School Transportation News