JTA seeks public feedback on converting Jacksonville’s Skyway for the next phase of driverless shuttles

Public meetings begin Feb. 25 as JTA advances Skyway conversion planning

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is opening a new round of public engagement on the next step of its Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C) program, a multi-phase plan intended to expand autonomous, electric shuttle service in and around Downtown Jacksonville. The agency is scheduled to hold eight community meetings starting Feb. 25, 2026, focused on the planned conversion of the Jacksonville Skyway into an elevated roadway designed for automated vehicles.

The meetings center on the U2C Phase II Project Development and Environment (PD&E) study, a required planning and review process used to assess alternatives, identify potential impacts, and gather public feedback before major design and construction decisions are finalized.

How the project reached this point

U2C’s first phase is the Bay Street Innovation Corridor, where JTA moved from testing to public operations in 2025 using retrofitted, battery-electric Ford E-Transit vans configured for autonomous service and designed to carry up to nine passengers. The corridor runs through Downtown between Pearl Street and EverBank Stadium and was launched with an initial fare-free period before later transitioning to a paid fare structure.

With Phase I operating, Phase II focuses on the existing Skyway system: its elevated guideway and stations. JTA’s stated objective is to repurpose the Skyway’s superstructure and eight stations into a corridor that automated vehicles can use, with ramps linking the elevated structure to surface streets and connecting the Skyway conversion to Bay Street service.

What Phase II includes and what the meetings are for

JTA’s PD&E effort includes early design work and an alternatives analysis. The planning scope also addresses how transit service would be provided along today’s Skyway corridors during and after conversion, including consideration of battery-electric bus service and related charging approaches.

At the community sessions, residents will be able to review alternatives under study and provide feedback that can influence choices such as station access, connections to street-level routes, and how the converted structure would function operationally.

• Eight community meetings are planned, beginning Feb. 25, 2026.
• The focus is the Skyway conversion element of U2C Phase II and the PD&E study.
• Key concepts include an elevated automated-vehicle corridor and ramp connections to Downtown streets.

Cost, oversight, and operational questions in focus

Public feedback is being sought as the program remains under financial and performance scrutiny. The Bay Street corridor was built as a roughly $65 million investment, and JTA has previously described a longer-term, multi-phase buildout that could exceed $400 million depending on scope, procurement, and construction sequencing. In late 2025, City Council oversight discussions highlighted early ridership levels on the Bay Street service and examined whether near-term performance aligns with long-range projections.

Separately, JTA disclosed in 2025 that a software-business change involving an autonomy technology provider could require the contractor team to secure a replacement solution to maintain self-driving functionality as contracted. JTA has said its primary contractor is obligated to provide the service under a multiyear agreement.

Residents can use the February 2026 meetings to weigh in on how the Skyway’s future role in Downtown mobility should be shaped before major Phase II decisions are locked in.

JTA’s community-meeting series is positioned as the main public input opportunity for the Skyway conversion study in early 2026, with comments intended to inform the next set of project recommendations and design milestones.