Revolutionary Commuter Technology Launching in Jacksonville

A revolutionary and practical fleet of self-driving vehicles are on the way this summer in the city of Jacksonville. This new program, the Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) by the Jacksonville Transit Authority (JTA), will transform the transportation landscape in Jacksonville, and possibly the United States, for years to come.

The official launch of Phase I of U2C is the Neighborhood Autonomous Vehicle Innovation (NAVI) service along Downtown’s Bay Street Corridor, a stretch of 3.5 miles from Pearl Street east to the Sports and Entertainment District and is planned to begin in June of this year. This is poised to be a heavily-utilized route, connecting businesses and hotels of Bay Street to the Sports and Entertainment District which includes EverBank Stadium, VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and VyStar Ballpark.

The next phase for the U2C project will be to connect the Bay Street Corridor to the newly-constructed Autonomous Innovation Center in the LaVilla neighborhood near Downtown. The Center is the command center to store, service and operate the autonomous vehicle fleet for any and all routes. Phase II will also begin converting the existing Skyway Superstructure and eight stations to an elevated roadway for the autonomous vehicles while extending the tracks to reach additional stations on the Northbank of the St. Johns River and over the Acosta Bridge to stations on the Southbank.

Further plans include extending the reach of the system into neighborhoods surrounding Downtown. It is the hope of the JTA that the Ultimate Urban Circulator will help minimize the dependence of car mobility for residents and visitors of Jacksonville, allowing people of all abilities easy transportation options throughout Downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods in a health-conscious, ecological and economical way.

The Automations & Innovation Division of JTA have been testing their fleet of autonomous vehicles over the last several years, with several testing sites used throughout the city. In 2024, JTA tested a route at Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Downtown campus that connected campus buildings using their Olly 2.0 vehicle which seats nine, including the operator, and travels at a speed of 18 mph when in autonomous mode.

Furthering Jacksonville’s status as a leader in autonomous transportation, in September of 2024, Germany-based automated shuttle manufacturer, Holon, will be building a $100 million dollar plant in Jacksonville, which will make them the first automated shuttle manufacturing facility in the United States. Holon plans to have its plant operating as early as mid-2026.

To learn more about JTA’s Ultimate Urban Circulator, visit https://u2c.jtafla.com/.