Emails reveal FDOT concerns over U2C

[marcuscnelson]

Uh oh.

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/investigates/2021-emails-show-fdot-concerns-over-jacksonville-transportation-authoritys-autonomous-vehicle-plan/JQLYRBNHHFFGLEGU2C7LFDCYKE/

This seems... bad.

[jaxoNOLE]

JTA is nothing if not consistent--regardless of the objection raised, regardless of the source, the answer is always the same::

"BUT...INNOVATION!"

I'm encouraged to see FDOT pushing back and also to see that a journalistic inquiry has been active since November.  It's a topic that has been desperately in need of honest coverage for years.

[fsu813]

Uh oh.

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/investigates/2021-emails-show-fdot-concerns-over-jacksonville-transportation-authoritys-autonomous-vehicle-plan/JQLYRBNHHFFGLEGU2C7LFDCYKE/

This seems... bad.

Only if people don't pretend it doesn't exist.

[thelakelander]

FDOT's concerns are the same that have been said by literally everyone in town not employed, politically connected, doing work or seeking JTA work. Public money is burning. We all know the project will eventually fail. The question is how much public money, trust and damage will be done when failure is finally realized and accepted.

[marcuscnelson]

After sleeping on it, I'm honestly furious at how badly this has gotten out of control.

I woke up this morning and put together a thread explaining why I'm so mad about this:

https://twitter.com/marcuscnelson/status/1766117183409487874?s=20

[CityLife]

Action News Jax has reached out to the offices of Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for their thoughts on the project. Deegan has made her support of the project and Ford very clear, calling him a "visionary" in December. Deegan's office shared the following statement with Action News Jax:

"We aren't aware of those specific concerns. Based on the facts that have been presented to us, we have confidence in Nat Ford, the JTA board, and this project."

[Charles Hunter]

After sleeping on it, I'm honestly furious at how badly this has gotten out of control.

I woke up this morning and put together a thread explaining why I'm so mad about this:

https://twitter.com/marcuscnelson/status/1766117183409487874?s=20

Since I'm not on X, what sort of responses are you getting?   (aside - interesting the URL for X still says "twitter")

[Charles Hunter]

Is Mr. Greer of JTA saying that FDOT's participation in the entire U2C program is limited to the $6 million* awarded for the Bay Street Innovation Corridor? That JTA won't come back to FDOT for additional grants for future phases?

*Per the FDOT statement to Action News, "FDOT has committed $13 million in funds to the $400 million project, with $7 million committed to improvements to the current bus fleet, which is something FDOT routinely funds. The remaining $6 million represents approximately 1.25% of the total funding of the project, however, FDOT has not yet paid JTA for any work associated with this agreement." This sounds to me like FDOT would have routinely given JTA $7 million for current bus fleet improvements, whether or not there was a U2C.

If the total U2C cost is somewhere north of $400 million, and the local gas tax is funding $247 million, where is the remaining more than $150 million coming from?

[thelakelander]

Charles Hunter, where's your vision?!

This isn't the type of project where logic and common sense can or should be applied.

Once JTA proves the world wrong and becomes the Tesla of the public transit world, FDOT, USDOT, COJ, DIA, local taxpayers, etc. will fight for the right to give the next billion eventually needed to fund this albatross.

[jaxlongtimer]

Uh oh.

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/investigates/2021-emails-show-fdot-concerns-over-jacksonville-transportation-authoritys-autonomous-vehicle-plan/JQLYRBNHHFFGLEGU2C7LFDCYKE/

This seems... bad.

This is consistent with conversations I have had with various transportation officials in the area.  The only (and good) surprise is these concerns have been formally documented and expressed by FDOT experts.  Of course, they mirror all the same concerns and objections raised over the last few years on the Jaxson. 

Still waiting for Nate Monroe to hone in on this project.  Maybe this broadcast will excite him enough to do so.

Someone should ask JTA to specifically answer to each of the concerns listed:

....In an email from December of 2021, the state lays out four key concerns: low ridership, high cost, a lack of competitive bidding, and overall viability of the operation. The emails show, at best, the 3.2-mile loop will carry 250 to 300 riders a day. The newest cost estimate jumped to $65.5 million. That breaks down to more than $20 million in taxpayer dollars ($20,468,750/mile) per mile constructed.

And that's just the first phase. The estimated $400+ million overall project has three. The emails go on to say there is no official price tag on the overall design. FDOT expressed concerns about spending state money without a set bid price or competitive bidding process. Instead, JTA awarded the sole source contract to one company without knowing how much the project would cost, only setting a "do not exceed" price ceiling. That doesn't leave a lot of incentive for competitive pricing, FDOT argued.

The emails also show concerns about the project operating autonomously, the whole point of the project. It said JTA knew the vehicles wouldn't operate autonomously the first year and questioned the price of the vehicle being "extremely high but not capable of operating autonomously." It also questions whether they'll be able to operate autonomously at all, even eventually, because "urban core capable, mixed flow autonomous vehicles has lagged projections for availability."....

[iMarvin]

Very shocked to see Deegan supporting this, but going to give the benefit of the doubt and assume she wasn't fully aware of the facts. Now that this is out, I'm hoping the entire U2C project is killed and everyone at JTA is replaced by the end of the year.

[jcjohnpaint]

I was shocked too! I am surprised and hope her administration gets their shit together on this!

[jaxoNOLE]

Very shocked to see Deegan supporting this, but going to give the benefit of the doubt and assume she wasn't fully aware of the facts. Now that this is out, I'm hoping the entire U2C project is killed and everyone at JTA is replaced by the end of the year.

I don't envy Deegan's position on this at all. She's got an entrenched and intransigent JTA CEO and board backed by an ambivalent-at-best and hostile-at-worst city council executing a plan that was formulated and (partially) funded before she took office. Yet, if it blows up during her tenure, she's likely to get the blame as the current executive.

I hope her administration sees the light. When the Skyway conversion comes up for funding, there will be a supplementary request to city council. That would be the last opportunity to take a stand. The timing of such relative to the reelection campaign may also be a factor. We will see.

[marcuscnelson]

Happened to be looking over legislation today and... did anyone notice that Aundra Wallace is apparently about to be re-appointed to the JTA board? Scheduled to go to the whole Council on Tuesday.

That would mean that Deegan will have made all of her available appointments with no clear expectation of change in oversight at JTA. Given how things are going that seems... concerning.

[marcuscnelson]

Back in 2022 (which we now know was about two months after the discussions these emails revealed), LeAnna Cumber voted against appointing Aundra Wallace to the JTA Board of Directors because of cost escalations on the U2C and concerns with the sole-source contract to Balfour Beatty Vision 2 Reality.

Council member LeAnna Cumber was the sole vote against Wallace's appointment at the Council Rules Committee and at Council.

During Wallace's confirmation interview with the committee Feb. 15, Cumber said her vote was related to her opposition to the cost of JTA's Skyway modernization called the Ultimate Urban Circulator.

Cumber agreed Wallace does "great work" for the chamber and is qualified for the appointment.

But Cumber said she didn't like  Wallace's responses to questions at the committee.

He declined to support a cap to the U2C's growing cost and he did not take issue with the JTA board approval of a single-response bid to design and build the project's first phase.

"I'm going to look at the numbers. I'm going to talk to staff, and we're going to see if we got the best cost available. And we're going to make informed decisions," Wallace said.

"As a board member of JTA, we'll make that decision collectively."

The transportation authority estimates the entire 10-mile automated vehicle network will cost $379 million to $400 million.