The Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s brand-new “NAVI” autonomous vehicles are set to begin providing public transportation across Jacksonville’s Bay Street corridor on June 30.
On Friday morning, JTA and Jacksonville city officials officially cut the ribbon on NAVI, which stands for Neighborhood Autonomous Vehicle Innovation.
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Each of the eight vehicles the program is starting with will be fitted with cameras, lidar, and radar technology to make sure that when obstacles get in the way, those autonomous vehicles are able to respond safely in time.
Safety attendants will also be on board to take over manually in a malfunction or a worst-case scenario.
“The eyes of the world are on us,” Jacksonville City Councilman Rahman Johnson said after Friday’s ceremony. “Most importantly, we have an opportunity to be a game changer in not just transportation and logistics, but in technology with that semiconductor institute coming from the University of Florida that we just put downtown.”
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For those looking to learn the ropes while trying out the new program, each of the 12 spots will have interactive touch screens with the NAVI command center one call away, as well as a map of the routes and a list of each business along each NAVI route.
“If you know me, one of the ways I get to meetings downtown is by scooter, right? I’m always scooting around because I don’t have to worry about parking. I can just scoot where I’m going, get there, put the scooter there, and keep it moving,” Johnson said. “This is even a game-changer for that. I mean, I’m certainly looking forward if I have a meeting over on this side of the river or around Bay Street, I can jump on the NAVI and be right there.”
Now, with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new Stadium of the Future just a few years out, the Four Seasons on the horizon just across the street, and Gateway Jax set to transform downtown in the coming years, JTA CEO Nat Ford said the hope is these new vehicles allow an innovative new way to meet the growing area’s growing transportation needs.
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“The better we move, the greater all that success will be,” Ford told Action News Jax on Friday. “Not everyone needs to, or should get in an automobile to deal, you know, for their mobility needs. And this part provides them with a world-class, first-class mobility option.”
The shuttles are set to operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday while being free of cost until September 30, when the service will become $1.75 a ride.
You can find more information on the program and its route by clicking the link here.
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