JTA interim CEO says funding for autonomous-transit buildout could be redirected amid shortfalls

# What changed

Authority (JTA) is reexamining its planned investment in autonomous public transit after reporting a second straight year of revenue shortfalls and rising expenses. Cleveland Ferguson, named interim CEO at the Aug. 27 board meeting, said "everything is on the table" when asked about the $247 million earmarked for the Ultimate Urban Circulator, or U2C.

Ferguson specifically cited the local six-cent gas tax that was intended to fund the U2C. He said the authority will hold talks with the mayor's office and the City Council to determine whether to keep that funding in place, slow the program, or redirect the money to other priorities.

# Why this matters

Jacksonville and nearby neighborhoods. With $247 million assigned to that build-out, changes to the project would alter the near-term direction of JTA capital spending. At the same time, the authority is planning operational adjustments: cuts to staff and service and fare increases for riders.

Redirecting the gas-tax revenue would be a practical budget decision with immediate consequences. The gas tax is a predictable, locally collected revenue source. Using it elsewhere could stabilize day-to-day operations, slow capital expansion, or allow repayment of operating deficits depending on city-level decisions.

# What JTA leaders say

# Immediate operational impacts

The authority is already confronting hard choices. Management has proposed cuts that would affect staff levels and service delivery while increasing rider fares. Those operational shifts are being considered to address the revenue shortfalls and rising costs that created this reassessment of capital priorities.

# The decision path ahead

The next steps are procedural and political. Expect the following sequence:

• JTA leadership completes an internal budget reassessment outlining options for the $247 million allocation and short-term operational needs.
• JTA meets with the mayor's office and City Council to present options and negotiate whether gas-tax revenue will remain dedicated to the U2C or be redirected.
• City officials decide whether to approve changes, which could require ordinance changes or formal agreements depending on how the gas tax was structured.

# What to watch next

• City-level meetings and votes involving the mayor's office and City Council: these will determine whether the gas-tax dollars are reassigned.

If the city redirects the gas-tax proceeds, JTA could stabilize operations in the short term but slow or cancel portions of the autonomous-transit buildout.

# Bottom line

JTA faces a fiscal squeeze that has placed a major autonomous-transit investment under review. Interim CEO Cleveland Ferguson has opened the door to redirecting the local six-cent gas tax once dedicated to the U2C, and he will take the matter to the mayor and City Council. Operational cuts and fare increases are already on the table as the authority balances immediate revenue pressures against long-term capital ambitions.