Every unnecessary kilometre travelled uses time and energy.
For a single journey, the difference may seem small. Across thousands of buses, delivery vehicles, service fleets and freight journeys, better planning can have a much larger impact.
This is one reason Artificial Intelligence is becoming increasingly relevant to sustainable transport.
AI systems can analyse information about routes, demand, traffic and vehicle use to identify more efficient options. The European Commission highlights applications including improved passenger and freight itineraries, optimised electric vehicle charging, predictive maintenance and better planning of transport infrastructure.
For logistics companies, this could mean reducing unnecessary journeys.
For public transport, it could mean better matching services with demand.
For electric vehicles, it can include more efficient battery and charging management.
These examples are useful because they show sustainability as a practical operational issue. Reducing emissions does not always require an entirely new transport system. Sometimes better information can help existing systems work more efficiently.
Transport is one of the four sectors explored through SUSTaiN.
The SUSTaiN AI Training Programme introduces learners to practical applications of AI in transport, helping them understand how data and intelligent systems can support more sustainable mobility.
The Case Study Compendium provides another route into the subject. Educators can begin with a real transport challenge and ask learners to consider how AI could contribute to solving it.
There is also an important skills discussion.
Transport professionals increasingly work in environments where vehicles, infrastructure and digital platforms exchange information. Future technicians, logistics workers and transport planners will need to feel comfortable working with these systems while understanding their limitations.
Sustainability in transport is not simply about replacing one vehicle with another. It is also about making better choices about how people and goods move.
AI can support those choices, but people still need to understand the system, interpret the information and make responsible decisions.
That is where vocational education has an important role to play.
Source: European Commission, Digitalising Transport and Key Technologies.