A Cautionary Tale of America’s First “Autonomous” Transit Service in Jacksonville, FL
In June 2025, the Jacksonville Transit Authority (JTA) proclaimed it was “writing the next chapter in the evolution of transportation” as they launched an autonomous public transit service called NAVI (Neighborhood Autonomous Vehicle Innovation). The NAVI shuttle system is the first step in Jacksonville’s $400 million “Ultimate Urban Circulator” plan to replace the city’s elevated monorail system, the Skyway, with autonomous vehicles. At the time JTA CEO and former chair of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), Nat Ford claimed “Jacksonville is making history in Florida and the nation,” but the question is after one year of service, has NAVI lived up to its lofty expectations?
High Operating Costs and Low Ridership
NAVI struggled to gain ridership upon its launch on June 30, 2026, despite being fare-free. Just a month later, a local news station did a story exposing that more than 50 JTA employees, consultants, and interns had signed up to ride NAVI on work time as the service was “in dire need of riders.” These rides were included in NAVI’s reported daily passenger count amounting to almost 7% of its reported numbers.
Ridership proceeded to drop roughly 15% after its first 6 months of operation. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) found the system costs approximately a $1 million per month to operate. With an average of only 973 monthly riders this means the service costs an astonishing $1,000 per ride to operate.
Not Actually Autonomous
Despite claiming to be fully autonomous, NAVI continues to operate with on board “attendants” employed by private contractor Beep, who often took control of the vehicle.
A recent report from FDOT found that the vehicles have never completed a loop without requiring manual assistance from the attendant. They also found that the vehicles cannot change lanes, have difficulty pulling into and out of stops and merging into traffic, and engage in sudden hard braking due to misreading conditions (flags, banners, pedestrians, and dirt on road)
The report concludes NAVI requires “more people to operate than a traditional transit vehicle.”
Looking Ahead
After a year of service, many in Jacksonville are fed up with NAVI. Some city councilors have said they are “ready to pull the plug” on the costly service. With a projected deficit of $17.5 million for fiscal year 2027, JTA has already begun cutting service and increasing fares to save money. With its high cost, low ridership, and inability to operate autonomously, NAVI should be at the top of the list for further cuts. Its biggest supporter, JTA CEO Nat Ford, recently announced he’ll be leaving the agency to take a new role as CEO of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART).
As transit agencies continue to expose the public to their AV experiments, our Union will take every opportunity to highlight the critical role our members play in public transit, to ensure safe and reliable transportation.