JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — JTA’s semi-autonomous shuttle has been touted as the transportation of the future, but Action News Jax has learned the NAVI won’t be making the cut for Jags game days. Investigator Emily Turner has dug into the NAVI operations and found concerns that have riders scratching their heads.
The problems aren’t limited to when it runs. There are safety concerns as well. For a vehicle that is not only equipped with multimillion-dollar autonomous technology but also has a driver behind the wheel, Action News Jax found that it has already been involved in at least one wreck.
While the NAVI came online to the public in June amid much fanfare, the acclaimed $ 65.5 million shuttle has left much to be desired by some.
RELATED: Riders divided over Jacksonville’s self-driving shuttles
“It’s basically a van,” critic Meghan Banks said, “and I don’t know, it seems like technology’s not there yet. Costs a lot of money [and] it looks like a normal van with the driver driving around in it.” “I hate that it blocks traffic,” she said.
The NAVI shuttles have already come under harsh criticism for their jarring ride and small 8-to-9-person capacity. But now there’s more on that list: Action News Jax found the shuttle won’t be running on game days, a time that arguably makes the most sense for a shuttle down Bay Street when parking at the stadium is reduced. Council member Jimmy Peluso told Action News Jax that JTA informed him it will continue not to run on game days until at least 2031.
JTA and the City dispute that date, stating that the Stadium of the Future construction will be completed in 2028, and they will attempt to find alternative routes before then.
However, in the meantime, not only is the shuttle not scheduled for games, but it also won’t run on weekends to ferry people to special events, causing frustration among fans and politicians alike.
“That sucks,” said Jags fan Brennan Richardson. “That’s not good….especially when you have a lot of Jags fans, you know, it gets really crowded down here.”
Council Member Jimmy Peluso was also upset to learn about the decision, saying he felt lied to by JTA CEO Nat Ford.
“I spoke with Mr. Ford a couple months ago,” Peluso told Action News Jax, “and I specifically asked the question, ‘will this be happening on game day’….and he says, ‘absolutely we will.’… so, to not have it on a day where we could actually maybe show a decent ROI, we’re not going to use it. Come on. What are we doing?"
In a statement to Action News Jax Thursday, the City of Jacksonville said the decision not to run NAVI during Jags games was partly its own.
“Due to construction around the stadium, it is at the City of Jacksonville and JSO’s request that NAVI is not running during Jaguars home games this season. We are exploring alternative NAVI route options with JTA that could allow for efficient transportation to and from the stadium during future game days. All the partners involved are looking forward to a safe and pleasant fan experience this season.”
An engineer who worked closely with the project told Action News Jax the U-turn in front of the stadium is a major risk and the special traffic patterns for all the extra cars would likely confuse the technology.
In fact, only Action News Jax discovered the shuttle has already had one fender-bender with a rider on board. The transit van jumped the curb and hit a light pole. Internal reports show it had been switched back and forth between autonomous and manual modes and a driver was at the helm at the time. Records also show that while the driver got fired, police were never called, though it knocked a mirror off and dinged city property.
“Oh, that’s not great,” said Banks, who drives a Tesla and understands how AVs are supposed to work. “From an autonomous driving perspective,” she said, “we have the full self-driving in (our car) and it’s not full self-driving. You still have to pay attention, and there are certain instances where it will see something and like on a, like, brake, and you feel that resistance… So I’m assuming they have that same problem."
JTA responded to Action News Jax’s question regarding the crash, saying that it was due to an error on the driver’s part.
“We are confident in the safety of our NAVI service. Of all the NAVI trips taken and over 6,000 riders we’ve served since the June 30 launch, there has been one incident which resulted from human error.”
“We are thrilled with Jaguar fans’ excitement and interest in taking NAVI to games,” wrote JTA. ”This year, the best way for fans to get to EverBank Stadium quickly, easily and affordably continues to be the JTA’s GameDay Xpress."
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