Cities test AI to cut paratransit call congestion

Paratransit agencies in the US are reporting faster call handling and more reliable service after adopting an AI-powered voice service that automates routine trip-management requests.

The Transit Technologies tool, launched in December 2025 and currently deployed at Via Mobility Services in Colorado, connects directly to scheduling platforms such as Ecolane to provide real-time information and process high-frequency rider queries.

The service was developed to reduce the substantial volume of predictable calls that dominate dispatcher workloads. Nunu Yates, Vice President of Product Management at Transit Technologies, told Cities Today these requests–confirming trips, checking pickup windows, providing arrival updates and handling cancellations–represent a large share of daily call traffic and drain staff capacity.

She said the system is designed to absorb these repetitive tasks, which can “reduce call-centre load by 70 to 80 percent, freeing staff for riders who need personalised attention.”

Agencies piloting the service have also reported improvements in operational accuracy and call-centre efficiency. With fewer routine calls to triage, dispatch teams can focus more effectively on complex issues, resulting in shorter wait times and more reliable scheduling. Yates noted that once automation supports predictable work, dispatch accuracy increases and staff spend more time resolving cases that require human judgement.

Rider behaviour is shifting as well. With immediate access to real-time information via natural speech, callers are confirming trip details earlier, cancelling with more notice and making fewer reassurance calls.

Yates said these changes have helped reduce no-shows and improve schedule stability, as riders “confirm details earlier, cancel sooner, and call less frequently for reassurance” when the information they need is instantly available.

Adoption has been particularly strong among riders who depend on telephone communication, including seniors and ADA paratransit users. The system’s natural-language design removes menu trees and allows users to speak conversationally.

Agencies also report equity gains, with multilingual support and audible updates improving access for riders with limited English proficiency or cognitive disabilities. Yates said the result has been fewer missed trips and less confusion around pickup windows for these groups.

The service only automates tasks when confidence is high and automatically escalates complex, ambiguous or sensitive queries. Riders can request a dispatcher at any time, and those requests are routed through existing call-centre workflows.

Integration requires no new software or operational changes, as the service links directly to Ecolane’s API and follows the same eligibility rules, booking windows and capacity constraints already in place. Yates said the goal was to keep deployments simple and ensure that operations teams “do not need to create new processes.”

Main image: Rolf52 | Dreamstime.com