Here’s how one local government is adopting AI

Saskatoon Transit has a fleet of over 130 buses that utilize artificial intelligence. (CTV News)

Saskatoon’s transit department is using artificial intelligence to prevent unexpected breakdowns on the side of the road.

The AI software, which has won the department several innovation awards, started as a pilot project in 2023. The transit department has been using it ever since.

“An operator driving a bus isn’t going to realize if oil pressure is a little bit different … or if the RPMs are a little bit out of sync,” explained Mike Moellenbeck, director of Saskatoon Transit.

But AI will.

Hardware placed inside the buses send real-time data from the vehicle sensors to a central location. The data is analyzed, and from there, Saskatoon Transit is notified of any repairs or maintenance required.

“This becomes one more tool in the toolbox,” Moellenbeck said. “Instead of running a bus until at which point in time a check engine light or a stop engine light would appear, we’re now able to get ahead of that and apply repairs to these vehicles before we’re at a point of failure.”

Over the last two years, AI has helped cut down costs for parts and unscheduled maintenance hours, while significantly increasing fleet reliability, according to Moellenbeck.

Transit isn’t the only department incorporating AI into its workflow, as Saskatoon’s water, waste management and administration departments also use it. It also assists in energy efficiency and building automation systems.

Saskatoon is one of several cities across the country using AI at the municipal level.

Results from an MNP survey earlier this year show 23 per cent of local governments use AI, while 31 per cent are actively evaluating how to incorporate it. Another 21 per cent say they are planning to use AI.

Wendy Gnenz, lead of municipal practice at MNP, expects these numbers to “significantly increase” within the next six months.

“It’s become almost commonplace now that the population, as a whole, understands AI tools and how to use them,” Gnenz told CTV News.

Many municipalities are jumping on board to meet the expectations of residents, according to Gnenz.

“They want their local governments to do what other organizations are doing,” she said.

The MNP survey found AI is most often used to support communications and human resources for tasks such as recruitment and scheduling.

ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot can be common starting points for local governments. These generative AI tools can be used to assess contracts from external vendors. AI is also used to analyze sensor data on roadways to better understand traffic patterns. It can even be used for predictive maintenance or chatbots.

“We’re seeing a lot of municipalities in that learning or experimenting phase,” said Colin Wenngatz, MNP data and AI lead. “They’re still trying to understand in what capacity they can use AI and where they’re going to see the impact on their team and their citizens.

Wenngatz said fear and cost can impede implementation of AI technology.

According to the MNP report, a quarter of Canadian municipalities either show interest in AI but have no plans yet, or they are not interested at all.

“I would argue that AI can be one of your biggest benefactors or could be a huge benefactor to the budget, in the sense that you’re now automating what you would call a lot of routine tasks,” Wenngatz said.

Privacy and data protection are some of the biggest concerns from municipalities. Gnenz said local governments also need to make sure data in the AI model they are using is accurate.

Gnenz and Wenngatz have not seen employees laid off because of AI implementation. Instead, AI has increased the “attraction and retention of the new workforce,” according to Gnenz.

She said local governments should not be afraid of AI.

“Just do it in a planned way that allows for management of the risks,” Gnenz said.