Is U2C serious? Help me make it make sense....

[marcuscnelson]

JTA announcing on social media today that NAVI will run until midnight tomorrow for "various downtown events!"

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DtAhvx8Rn/

This includes a detour off Bay Street onto Forsyth and the addition of stops to "accommodate the detour route." It's unclear if the vehicles will be driving themselves on this detour or driven by their attendants.

[MakeDTjaxGre@tAgain]

Getting some competition in the mix. Not looking good for JTA if this passes. Rider count will plummet setting them back even further. What deal did they sign with Holon? Can they get out before it's too late?

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2026/02/27/is-waymo-coming-to-jacksonville-councilman-says-he-will-do-everything-he-can-to-bring-robotaxis-here/

[Charles Hunter]

This means I agree with Diamond on something!

But ... I don't see Waymo coming here before some of those larger un-Waymo'd cities.

[jcjohnpaint]

Reminds me of when Gandalf tells Frodo that Gollum, good or evil, will have a purpose in the end.

[thelakelander]

Waymo doesn't need Diamond to be here, if and when they want to expand service to Jax. Diamond passing legislation is like council trying to pursuade Publix with incentives to open in a food desert. They have a business model and if it makes sense to do something local, they will pursue it.

But I agree with his general stance on NAVI, when compared to these private sector options. NAVI and Holon's little van will be obsolete before things are figured out locally. But that should be a separate discussion from planning and implementation of Jax's "mass" transit network.

[Jankelope]

Didn't I read that they had like 20 riders a day or something?

It's really quite sad because I feel like basically anybody could have told you this was all a bad decision that has cost us hundreds of millions of dollars that the taxpayers trusted us with.

You cannot expect citizens to feel good about where their tax dollars and local-option gas tax increases are going when you have stuff like this.

It muddies the water around the truly awesome and essential things we are doing with infrastructure projects, emerald trail, Riverfront Parks, etc

We need the average citizen to feel like the money they are investing is not some vanity project or R&D experiment for JTA.

So frustrating.