The slow start in ridership for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s autonomous shuttle system is sparking questions by the Duval DOGE Committee about what it will cost to build the entire 10-mile network and what happens if use of the shuttles falls short of expectations.
Jacksonville City Council member Rory Diamond, who sits on the DOGE Committee, initiated the review when he sent a set of questions to JTA including what the latest estimates are for the cost of building the system that’s the first of its kind in the nation.
JTA is an independent authority overseen by a seven-member board so City Council does not directly control how the agency moves forward with the shuttle system.
But the DOGE review would mark the most attention City Council has given to the U2C since the city agreed in 2020 to dedicate $247 million for the Skyway conversion portion of the project when the city approved a long list of transportation projects financed by doubling the local gas tax to 12 cents per gallon.
JTA Executive Director Nat Ford said in a letter to Diamond the agency looks forward to answering his questions about the Ultimate Urban Circular, called U2C for short.
“The U2C program represents our commitment to reimagining mobility, driving economic growth and positioning Jacksonville as a national model for smart, connected transportation,” Ford wrote.
A NAVI shuttle leaves the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s command center for the vehicles that are designed to become autonomous at some point in the future without any on-board drivers controlling them.
Diamond, who has called the U2C a boondoggle, said JTA has been responsive to his requests and he hopes the DOGE Committee can use the information to assess whether the U2C is worth the cost.
“They’ve been very willing to work with me to answer questions,” Diamond said at the Oct. 21 DOGE meeting.
DOGE Chairman Ron Salem said the committee will hear from JTA at its next meeting on Nov. 4. Jenny Busby, assistant vice president of government affairs for JTA, said the agency will provide answers to Diamond’s 17 questions before the meeting.
“I am confident we’ll go through those questions and answers and see where the discussion goes from there,” Salem said.
JTA kicked off the Bay Street loop on June 30 and it averaged 137 riders per day over the first couple of months of Neighborhood Autonomous Vehicle Innovation service. That equates to around 12 riders per hour during the 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekday schedule, meaning the NAVI shuttles often run without any passengers on board between downtown’s office towers and the sports complex.
Salem said he thinks it’s too early to make any judgements on ridership because some stops are at sites such as the Four Seasons Hotel that’s under construction and the future site of the relocated Museum of Science and History.
“I understand the concern and I have the same concern, but I’m trying to give it a chance to be fully implemented before we start drawing conclusions,” he said.
Diamond and City Council member Jimmy Peluso have been the most outspoken critics on the council about the U2C that would reconstruct much of the elevated Skyway platform so rubber-tired autonomous vehicles can travel on it and then continue at street-level for longer trips in downtown and into surrounding neighborhoods.
Two council members serving with Diamond on the DOGE Committee said they also want more information about where JTA is headed with the U2C.
“I just want to be on the record saying this is probably the first time that Councilman Peluso, Councilman Diamond and I have been, I think, close to 100% on the same plane as far as concerns and wanting to get some details so that people know what’s going on,” council member Chris Miller said.
“Mr. Diamond, great questions,” council member Raul Arias said.
The Skyway’s elevated track downtown would be reconstructed into a platform for rubber-wheeled autonomous vehicles in the next phase of the Ultimate Urban Circulator System being built by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.
Diamond’s list asks JTA for the most recent estimates of what it will cost to build the upcoming Skyway conversion phase of the U2C and also the final phase extending the service into neighborhoods bordering downtown.
He also wants to know what the ridership has been so far on the NAVI service’s Bay Street corridor route and what JTA’s projections are for future ridership on each phase of the U2C.
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He asked what “controls and checkpoints” City Council would have to “review cost estimates, changes and scope” before JTA makes major decisions and whether any independent auditor or review has assessed the U2C program’s “risks, budget estimates and performance metrics.”
“What recourse does the city or council have if the project fails to meet key benchmarks?” Diamond asked in one of the questions.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: JTA’s U2C system up for review by Duval DOGE committee