JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — JTA’s autonomous NAVI shuttle may not be autonomous for much longer… Or at least temporarily.
Just before JTA CEO Nat Ford took to the podium to take questions from the Duval DOGE Special Committee about the agency’s U2C project and its autonomous NAVI shuttle system, JTA announced that the software that makes those shuttles self-driving could soon be discontinued.
Balfour Beatty Construction LLC, the primary contractor for the NAVI shuttle, informed JTA that its software subcontractor, Oxa, is pulling out of the passenger transport business and will cut off service at the end of the year.
When questioned about the development, Ford told council members JTA is counting on Balfour Beatty to find a new software provider as the company is contractually obligated to provide the NAVI shuttle service for five years.
“There are other software providers out there. There’s Mobileye, there’s ADUS Tech. Discussions have already begun with them,” said Ford.
According to JTA, the agency, “will vigorously and without hesitation take all necessary steps and recourse to hold Balfour Beatty accountable for its contractual commitment”.
Ford also assured the committee the city will not be responsible for any additional cost resulting from the software issue.
“We’re not paying for that. We have to protection in place with Balfour Beatty, ability to force their performance related to this service,” Ford said.
Despite Ford’s assurance that the software issue won’t cost the city any additional money, even if a new software provider is found, Ford said transitioning to the new provider could take up to half a year to complete.
All the while, he explained, the city’s $65 million autonomous shuttle program will have to be driven manually.
Councilmember Rory Diamond (R-District 13) said he sees the problem as further evidence that the entire project should be scrapped.
“It’s just another thing, right? When you do something no one else has ever done before, a totally new technology that’s unproven, you’re gonna have these issues over and over again,” Diamond said. ”We should just do something that we know that’s tried and true that other cities have done.”
Action News Jax reached out to Balfour Beatty to ask what it’s doing to resolve the software issue and prevent the NAVI service from experiencing any disruptions.
We’re still awaiting a response.
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