Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Science and research / 19-3099.01

Transportation Planners

Prepare studies for proposed transportation projects. Gather, compile, and analyze data. Study the use and operation of transportation systems. Develop transportation models or simulations.

US jobs
37,100 (SOC 19-3099 group, "Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other")
Median wage
$101,110 a year
Job family
Science and research

Can agents do the work of transportation planners?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Science and research:

  • Task levelPartialThin evidence. CORE-Bench asks agents to reproduce the results of published papers in computer science, social science, and medicine from the authors' code and data. Princeton's HAL team declared it solved in December 2025: Claude Code with Claude Opus 4.5 scored 95.5% after manual regrading. No benchmark in our collection tests new experiments or lab work.
  • Project levelNot yetThin evidence. On PaperBench, where agents replicate machine learning papers from scratch, the best official result is 26.0% (o1, April 2025). On a small subset, ML PhDs scored 41.4% against o1's 26.6%. No newer official results exist, and no benchmark tests research projects in other sciences.

Benchmarks for this occupation

  • CORE-Benchby Princeton UniversityTask level · CORE-Bench-Hard accuracy (public test set)
    95.5%Claude Code + Claude Opus 4.5 (after manual regrading) · 3 Dec 2025
    Solved

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in science and research, not always this occupation's tasks.

  • PaperBenchby OpenAIProject level · Average replication score
    26%IterativeAgent o1-high (36h limit) · 2 Apr 2025
    Emerging

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Define regional or local transportation planning problems or priorities.
  • Participate in public meetings or hearings to explain planning proposals, to gather feedback from those affected by projects, or to achieve consensus on project designs.
  • Prepare reports or recommendations on transportation planning.
  • Collaborate with engineers to research, analyze, or resolve complex transportation design issues.
  • Recommend transportation system improvements or projects, based on economic, population, land-use, or traffic projections.
  • Develop computer models to address transportation planning issues.
  • Analyze information related to transportation, such as land use policies, environmental impact of projects, or long-range planning needs.
  • Interpret data from traffic modeling software, geographic information systems, or associated databases.
  • Design transportation surveys to identify areas of public concern.
  • Collaborate with other professionals to develop sustainable transportation strategies at the local, regional, or national level.
  • Evaluate transportation project needs or costs.
  • Analyze information from traffic counting programs.
Other job titles for this occupation (18)

Planner · Program Officer · Transportation Analyst · Transportation Data Programs Manager · Transportation Planner · Airway Transportation Systems Specialist (ATSS) · Fleet Coordinator · Traffic Analyst · Transit Planner · Transportation Consultant · Transportation Designer · Transportation Logistics Analyst · Transportation Management Consultant · Transportation Modeler · Transportation Operations Specialist · Transportation Specialist · Transportation Systems Analyst · Transportation Technician (Transportation Tech)