{"id":25278,"date":"2025-06-29T19:47:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T19:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/25278\/"},"modified":"2025-06-29T19:47:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T19:47:08","slug":"jacksonvilles-first-driverless-public-transportation-service-begins-monday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/25278\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville\u2019s first driverless public transportation service begins Monday"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. <\/strong> \u2013 After holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday to celebrate the launch of the nation\u2019s first public driverless transportation service, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority said people can begin accessing the service on Monday. <\/a><\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/b>JTA opens Autonomous Innovation Center downtown with 14 Holon vehicles already approved for purchase<\/a><\/p>\n

Mayor Donna Deegan, center, is flanked by JTA CEO Nat Ford, left, as well as City Council members and JTA leadership to mark the opening of the Bay Street Innovation Corridor on June 30. The ribbon cutting was held at VyStar Ballpark on June 27. (Jacksonville Daily Record)<\/p>\n

The Neighborhood Autonomous Vehicle Innovation, otherwise known as NAVI, will operate Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. along the 3.5-mile Bay Street Innovation Corridor, which spans from Pearl Street to EverBank Stadium. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe vehicles will stop at 12 designated stations, improving connectivity to attractions like the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts, the Jacksonville Naval Museum, The Florida Theatre, sports venues, hotels, and more than 35 dining outlets,\u201d JTA said. <\/p>\n

The NAVI route map shows riders all of the destinations that are walking distance from the 12 rider kiosks. (Jacksonville Transportation Authority)<\/p>\n

The service will be complimentary for all riders through September 30. <\/p>\n

Additionally, the Jacksonville Daily Record <\/a>reports that while a computer will be navigating, a JTA employee will be aboard the vans to take control if an issue arises with one of the vehicles. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs NAVI begins operations, passenger feedback is essential,\u201d the JTA added. \u201cRiders are encouraged to complete a brief survey following their ride, which will inform updates and service enhancements as the JTA and its partners continue to refine and expand this groundbreaking mobility solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

NAVI is part of JTA\u2019s Ultimate Urban Circulator system,<\/a> a 10-year plan that will modernize public transportation around the expanded Downtown area that will include Springfield, Riverside and San Marco, the JDR reports. <\/p>\n

It is the nation\u2019s first permanent public autonomous vehicle service, as other driverless ride services, like Tesla\u2019s Robotaxi<\/a> and Google\u2019s Waymo<\/a>, are private enterprises.<\/p>\n

\u201cShared mobility will help solve transportation challenges and build communities by maximizing independence and improving accessibility,\u201d said JTA CEO Nat Ford. \u201cToday, we are putting another stake in the ground that makes Jacksonville a great city and leader in North America.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the transportation agency, the NAVI service will initially use a customized fleet of 14 electric Ford e-Transit vehicles integrated with an automated driving system (ADS).<\/p>\n

The vehicles will seat up to 9 passengers with ADA capability. <\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 After holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday to celebrate the launch of the nation\u2019s first public…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,7310,20344,18708,22597,522,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-25278","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-jacksonville","12":"tag-jacksonville-transportation-authority","13":"tag-jta","14":"tag-navi","15":"tag-transportation","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114768383112087857","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}