One year on from the launch of the DfT’s Transport Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, we explore how the plan has progressed
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By Johnny Sharp
When the Department for Transport (DfT) announced its Transport Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan in June 2025, the claims were bold. The plan was to constitute “a step-change for AI in our transport system, recognising its power to increase resilience, productivity and turbo-charge innovation across the private and public sectors.”
Among its stated objectives were the promotion of responsible adoption of AI, economic benefits allied to reductions in environmental impact, consolidating the UK’s position at the forefront of the AI industry, and for the DfT to embrace and adopt AI in its service delivery.
So with nearly a year having passed since the plan’s publication, what progress have we seen in those areas?
Responsible, sustainable and economically viable AI transportation
One of the most exciting developments currently underway is in the area of automated vehicles, which, as a green mode of transport offering economic benefits, can be regarded as progressing towards two of the DfT’s objectives. Safety and responsible rollout are also prominent concerns.
While self-driving vehicles are already a reality in the US, the Middle East and China, the UK has taken a safety-first, methodical approach to their introduction. As planned in the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, research and development is now taking place in partnership with US company Waymo, which has a fleet of Jaguar I-Pace AVs driving in 10 London boroughs with human safety drivers behind the wheel.
Local Transport Minister Lillian Greenwood is pushing for regulations to get the green light later this year: “We’re supporting pro-innovation regulations to make self-driving cars a reality on British roads.”
Such ‘robotaxis’ could be seen in London as early as this September, available to book via a digital app. The UK’s self-driving vehicle industry alone is forecast to be worth £42bn and create 38,000 skilled jobs by 2035.
The UK as AI leader
One objective of the Transport AI Action Plan was to establish the UK transport sector as a global leader in transport innovation. The Department for Science, Innovation And Technology is claiming success on this front, with 185 UK tech startups now valued at over $1bn.
Meanwhile, innovation is being promoted in the sponsorship of new projects, such as the ‘Smarter Transport Systems – AI in Transport’ competition, delivered by Connected Places Catapult in partnership with the DfT. Three winners were announced in March, each receiving £14,000 in funding: KIGO helps schools and local authorities optimise school-run travel; MoniRail enables predictive maintenance of railways, and Trackbase uses statistical models to identify emerging rail asset deterioration before it impacts services.
Elsewhere, another ongoing DfT partnership with Innovate UK is part of the DfT’s First of a Kind (FOAK) programme, offering £4.8m in funding to groundbreaking new projects addressing persistent issues on our railways.
Previous winners of the annual competition are already making an impact, such as Transmission Dynamics, the 2025 winner which developed an intelligent roadside warning and analysis system. The system recently alerted Network Rail to a bridge strike in Northumberland, helping to minimise disruption on the East Coast Main Line.
Embracing AI in DfT projects
These initiatives are just a selection of the partnerships that the DfT has set up in order to bring AI into the heart of transport policy in the UK. Others include the Alan Turing Institute, which published an Evidence Pack for the AI Energy Council in April 2026, identifying three areas where AI can help optimise emission reduction in road freight and shipping: smarter load allocation, improved routing, and a reduction in idle time at ports, depots and charging locations.
On the railways, GBRX, the innovation and technology arm of the new state-owned rail organisation Great British Railways, has recently launched Artificial Intelligence in Rail: The Industry Action Plan to identify areas where artificial intelligence can make a difference to train travel.
One priority project is a new integrated fares model, which will make fares more equitable for passengers and easier to understand by simplifying options into a maximum of three fare types for every journey. “AI presents a significant opportunity to improve how the railway works for people,” said GBRX managing director Toufic Machnouk at the plan’s London launch.
“The publication of this plan represents a defining moment for the sector,” added Network Rail’s Chief Executive Jeremy Westlake. “Reinforcing that collaboration across the rail industry is essential to unlocking the full benefits of AI.”
Image title: Overhead shot of connected vehicles at major junction Credit: Shutterstock
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