Time to cut bait on JTA's driverless Skyway replacement

[Fallen Buckeye]

Need to recruit all people who dressed up like clowns for the Jags games to stand outside JTA in their get ups to protest of the clown cars.

[Charles Hunter]

Need to recruit all people who dressed up like clowns for the Jags games to stand outside JTA in their get ups to protest of the clown cars.

Or see how many clowns fit inside a clown car ...

[thelakelander]

Maybe 6-8 sitting comfortably in those minivans. Anything more will require sacrificing some personal space. All bets are off if a bike or wheelchair is included.

[marcuscnelson]

JTA Chair Debbie Buckland:

"yes it's bold and it's one that is filled with unique challenges, but there is also so much potential as we seek to make Jacksonville a hub for the autonomous vehicle industry. And that's important for you members of the media to remember, we're going to be famous for this one day and you'll be thanking us."

This is an insane thing to say. Genuine delusion on Chair Buckland's part. Really gives the whole game away on the idea of this being about personal glory for cheerleaders and not about public transportation.

Lol...based off these quotes and last few posts, everything we said was a challenge that JTA would not overcome......five years ago....is still a challenge today. Shame on these people for acting like this gimmick is big news. Feel free to test, but we still need real mass transit solutions and projects in this town.

Yep, the same problems and technical shortfalls that existed in 2017 when the first EasyMile shuttle ran near the Shipyards continue to exist now, despite billions of dollars and years of R&D by the self-driving industry. JTA used to mention their "Golden 20" set of requirements that the shuttles needed to meet in order to satisfy project objectives, but that's clearly fallen by the wayside in the interest of meeting deadlines imposed by the BUILD Grant. Whether it works has become incidental to getting to say "we did it!"

And this desperate drive for glory has come at the cost of not just future transit planning, but the transit system itself.

[jaxlongtimer]

What does JTA have on its board members that they simply rubber stamp anything the executives bring to them?  Is it a requirement to not make waves to get appointed? Where did that get some former JEA board members?  I smell a JEA-type scandal one day in the future if the board doesn't begin doing its own due diligence and living up to its fiduciary responsibilities.

[marcuscnelson]

I suspect a lot of the problem is that no one on that board is a person who rides transit, much less depends on it, much less understands the fundamentals of building it well. So for them, JTA is a cool project that justifies a bunch of travel and being wowed by stuff. And so when your charming CEO with such illustrious credentials comes to you and says this is feasible, it's innovative, it's gonna make everyone famous, he takes you to meet a bunch of people who tell you that you're doing a great job and showing leadership and this will be your wonderful legacy on the city, why wouldn't you be on board?

A professor calls this a "democratic accountability problem with a series of what economists would call ‘principal-agent problems'"

[thelakelander]

I suspect a lot of the problem is that no one on that board is a person who rides transit, much less depends on it, much less understands the fundamentals of building it well.

I also think this is the big challenge. I don't believe the board has any ill intent. However, it isn't comprised of actual users of the system or professionals in the field either.

[jaxlongtimer]

I suspect a lot of the problem is that no one on that board is a person who rides transit, much less depends on it, much less understands the fundamentals of building it well.

I also think this is the big challenge. I don't believe the board has any ill intent. However, it isn't comprised of actual users of the system or professionals in the field either.

I can't cut the board this much slack.  The board has a fiduciary responsibility to perform adequate oversight and due diligence and not rubber stamp staff. 

If they aren't up to the task, they shouldn't accept the appointment.  But, if they do accept, they are effectively agreeing to bone up on the agency's activities, ask hard questions, do their homework, demand solid and appropriate support for presentations, bring in outside experts to help educate them and/or have third party consultants/experts assist in independent audits and evaluations.  JEA's board failed in all these ways and JTA's board is now doing the same. 

There are no excuses for not doing the job right.  Disqualify yourself if you can't live up to your responsibilities or prepare to be embarrassed and shamed at some point as JEA board members learned the hard way.