JTA Plans Major 2027 Cuts

[jaxlongtimer]

Wonder what Dallas thinks after seeing this article.  Totally mismanaged.  I bet all the millions in U2C bills are paid promptly though  .

Records show JTA has $15.06 million in delinquent bills

The independent authority, which suffered a budget deficit in FY2026 and a projected shortfall in 2027, has unpaid invoices dating as far back as 2014.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/news/2026/jul/28/records-show-jta-has-1506-million-in-delinquent-bills/

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority has $15.06 million worth of delinquent bills on its books, according to records provided to the Jacksonville Daily Record.

In invoice records dating back to the beginning of 2026, JTA's unpaid bills are at its highest level of the calendar year. In response to questions about the bills, the independent authority confirmed the amount was $15.06 million and said it had taken steps to pay them in two months.

The delinquencies date back to 2014, according to records, which break down the debt several ways. Of the total, $4.62 million is more than 60 days past due, $4.86 million is 31 to 60 days past due and $5.58 million is one to 30 days past due.

Of the $4.62 million that is more than 60 days past due, records show that $373,259.42 was overdue since July 1, 2025, and $2.95 million was overdue after April 1, 2026....

[thelakelander]

JTA CEO Nat Ford says farewell as council liaison pushes to cut autonomous vehicle program

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Transportation Authority CEO Nat Ford delivered his farewell address to the JTA Board of Directors on Wednesday, even as a city council representative arrived at the board room with a clear agenda: eliminate the city's autonomous vehicle program.

The dual developments mark a significant moment of transition for the agency that oversees the city's public transportation system.

Council liaison pushes to cut NAVI
City Councilman Rory Diamond, who serves as the council's liaison to the JTA Board, arrived Wednesday with a clear target: NAVI, the autonomous vehicle that operates in downtown Jacksonville.

Diamond holds no structural voting authority on the JTA Board, but represents the Jacksonville City Council, which controls the agency's purse strings. He and Ford had clashed repeatedly in recent months over whether the autonomous vehicle program is worth its cost.


"I do think it's time to cut NAVI — it's well beyond time," Diamond said. He confirmed he plans to raise the issue directly with the board and will also bring it before Jacksonville City Council to renegotiate the city's portion of the local option gas tax, which funds the NAVI program.

Two major questions now hang over JTA's future: how much taxpayer money it will cost to find a new CEO, and whether Jacksonville's autonomous vehicle program has reached the end of the road.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2026/07/29/board-to-discuss-future-of-jta-after-departure-of-ceo-nat-ford/

[CityLife]

Council liaison pushes to cut NAVI
City Councilman Rory Diamond, who serves as the council's liaison to the JTA Board, arrived Wednesday with a clear target: NAVI, the autonomous vehicle that operates in downtown Jacksonville.

Diamond holds no structural voting authority on the JTA Board, but represents the Jacksonville City Council, which controls the agency's purse strings. He and Ford had clashed repeatedly in recent months over whether the autonomous vehicle program is worth its cost.


"I do think it's time to cut NAVI — it's well beyond time," Diamond said. He confirmed he plans to raise the issue directly with the board and will also bring it before Jacksonville City Council to renegotiate the city's portion of the local option gas tax, which funds the NAVI program.

Two major questions now hang over JTA's future: how much taxpayer money it will cost to find a new CEO, and whether Jacksonville's autonomous vehicle program has reached the end of the road.

[jaxoNOLE]

^To a hammer, everything looks like a nail, but occasionally some thing actually is a nail. Today that thing happens to be NAVI.

The only issue with Diamond spearheading any renegotiation of LOGT monies is that he's not likely to support it going towards downtown or any true mass transit application.

[marcuscnelson]

Diamond was pretty upfront at the board meeting that he would seek to redirect LOGT funds to what he sees as Council's priorities, by which he rather explicitly meant some litany of road projects.

There are plenty of opportunities for the City to seek state and federal funding, especially now, for more road projects without needing to dedicate more gas tax funds on top of all the gas tax and sales tax and property tax and general funds already going to roads.

[thelakelander]

Diamond certainly won't be much of an advocate for any type of transit. He won't be in office long enough anyway. However, hopefully he can at least help put NAVI out of its misery once and for all.

[jaxlongtimer]

NAVI dollars should be, in the short run, redirected to improving, expanding and fixing bus service and the Emerald Trail.  Some dollars should also go toward planning (a dirty word in Jax!) future rail of some sort.

[Charles Hunter]

and maybe paying some of those outstanding invoices ...
better yet, subtract it from whatever final payout Ford is expecting

[Jax_Developer]

I know it's easy to blame Ford, and I do... but let's all not forget that Donna could have killed this program & gotten JTA under control years ago. Instead, she continued to publicly support Ford, and removed the only Board Member asking questions... while appointing a Board Member that is in her pocket.

People like Ford don't have power themselves... they have power because the collective feels obligated to them. Aka, Donna, Johnson, Wallace, etc. I'm sure nobody will really every associate them with JTA but you absolutely should.

[CityLife]

Seems pretty obvious that Navi/U2C is going to eventually be killed off.

Every article I see about NAVI/U2C cites the $65 million price tag. But from everything I've been able to find, that figure appears to only cover the Bay Street Innovation Corridor, and not include Autonomous Innovation Center. The AIC appears to have been a separate investment of roughly $41 million. It looks like the building shell cost approximately $12 million, with another $29 million invested in the specialized equipment, maintenance bays, charging systems, control center, and other infrastructure inside.

If that's correct, the public investment tied to NAVI/U2C is more like $106 million in hard costs. That is not even counting all of the wasted staff time, consulting fees, travel,  sprinter van driver salaries, etc. 

If the project is scrapped, it seems like the only thing JTA can recoup any money on is the sprinter vans, $12 million shell of the building, and perhaps some software. Ideally there is an opportunity to sell or lease the AIC to UF, or to a tech company interested in being close to the new campus. But this will still be a tough pill to swallow. Better to cut losses as quickly as possible though.

Has anyone ever seen a more catastrophic public-sector project in Florida? Has anyone ever seen someone turn a mistake of this magnitude into a promotion? Truly wild.

[Ned Plimpton]

NAVI aside, it's obvious to see the future of JTA has nothing to do with real transit.  Desantis appointed someone from Daily's and a clay county based roadbuilder (who lives more than 10 miles outside of the JTA service area) as two of his 4 appointments.  JTA is in the road building and automobile business and that's not going to change any time soon.

[Ken_FSU]

Has anyone ever seen a more catastrophic public-sector project in Florida? Has anyone ever seen someone turn a mistake of this magnitude into a promotion? Truly wild.

Two catastrophic public-sector project failures for Ford, if we're being technical. With a third looming.

Nat Ford cost the City of Jacksonville $106 million with Navi. And another $147 million for the historic Emerald Trail grant that - under his leadership - was rescinded because we dragged our feet on securing the dollars. A literal quarter of a billion dollars pissed away, while setting transportation back a decade or more in the city.

The third risk is also a big one. With this recent round of JTA budget cuts (which will not be the last, from what I'm hearing), there's no universe where the First Coast Flyer's East, Southeast, and Southwest Corridors, at a minimum, are not in direct violation of our grant agreements. We promised 10-minute peak headways when accepting the money. We are now formally operationalizing 25-minute headways. JTA was already catching heat before for grant compliance before headways were cut again.

For all of the above reasons, I fear the worst outcome of all of this may be Jacksonville being passed over for future federal and state transportation grants for the next 15-20 years because we can't be trusted to make good on our promises.

[thelakelander]

If the project is scrapped, it seems like the only thing JTA can recoup any money on is the sprinter vans, $12 million shell of the building, and perhaps some software. Ideally there is an opportunity to sell or lease the AIC to UF, or to a tech company interested in being close to the new campus. But this will still be a tough pill to swallow. Better to cut losses as quickly as possible though.

Has anyone ever seen a more catastrophic public-sector project in Florida? Has anyone ever seen someone turn a mistake of this magnitude into a promotion? Truly wild.

When I was the chair of the LaVilla Heritage Trail & Gateways Committee, we knew this day would come, depsite the rest of the city burying its head in the sand.

We forced JTA to change the building's design and facade. While they may have thought it was about beautification, it was really about setting the space up for adaptive reuse. That day can't come soon enough, as its a major gateway between Downtown, LaVilla and Brooklyn.

[CityLife]

If the project is scrapped, it seems like the only thing JTA can recoup any money on is the sprinter vans, $12 million shell of the building, and perhaps some software. Ideally there is an opportunity to sell or lease the AIC to UF, or to a tech company interested in being close to the new campus. But this will still be a tough pill to swallow. Better to cut losses as quickly as possible though.

Has anyone ever seen a more catastrophic public-sector project in Florida? Has anyone ever seen someone turn a mistake of this magnitude into a promotion? Truly wild.

When I was the chair of the LaVilla Heritage Trail & Gateways Committee, we knew this day would come, depsite the rest of the city burying its head in the sand.

We forced JTA to change the building's design and facade. While they may have thought it was about beautification, it was really about setting the space up for adaptive reuse. That day can't come soon enough, as its a major gateway between Downtown, LaVilla and Brooklyn.

That's right. I think I remember you talking about that on here. Great work, sir! It does seem like a fairly easy retrofit. And may be a good way to get UF some square footage quickly.

[jaxlongtimer]

I am trying to understand what Dallas saw in Ford in making their decision.  Will be interesting to see how long he lasts there if they experience what we have seen in Jax. I am very appreciative of them taking him off our hands although I believe he was jumping ship, regardless, knowing the proverbial S--t was getting ready to hit the fan.

City leaders need to admit failure, making a big mistake trusting JTA, etc. and, with hat in hand and "lessons learned" (how many times, now?), come clean and restart JTA on the right path of being focused on true MASS transit. NAVI/U2C and the Skyway are two big black eyes for mass transit initiatives that will take years to put behind us with the public but we have to start somewhere.

As an aside, how does Ford leaving impact Holon?  I won't be surprised if they roll up their carpet and pull out next.