Unveiling JTA's Staggering $147 Million Federal Grant – What's Their Strategy? with Nat Ford

[00:00:00] Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike

[00:00:30] center which soon will be built and will be a big part of that we certainly hope.

[00:00:34] Happy to have you with us and we're also so happy to have of course my colleagues

[00:00:38] who are with us Mike Hightower is here in studio. Mike Tolbert's back out at the

[00:00:42] farm he's shoveling you know what in the stalls and a special guest today I'm

[00:00:46] delighted to be welcoming Nat forward to our program. Nice to have you with us.

[00:00:50] CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority just out in the sake of

[00:00:54] trade transparency I've got to tell you Nat was my boss for seven years in fact his

[00:00:59] first seven years here in Jacksonville and we see nothing but growth ever since he

[00:01:06] has gotten here. He became CEO in 2012 having served as the CEO in San

[00:01:11] Francisco municipal transportation agency and the Metropolitan Atlantic

[00:01:15] Atlanta Transit Authority better known to all of us as Marta and both of those

[00:01:19] agencies among the biggest and the best by the way in the United States. Nat has

[00:01:24] completely transformed this agency and I can tell you that from the inside

[00:01:28] before it was before Nat because they started it actually in 2003 all the way

[00:01:33] until all the way until 12 and it has only grown and it's expanded and

[00:01:38] they've done a lot of projects and if you think buses is just what JTA does

[00:01:42] you got another thing coming and we'll be talking about that a little bit

[00:01:45] later on. Anyhow since he is 12 his focus on all areas of public

[00:01:50] transportation has now been recognized as the best in class regional

[00:01:54] organization held in the highest regard both locally and nationally and for that

[00:01:59] matter internationally as well. Nice to have you with us Nat. Thank you Mike. One

[00:02:03] of the reasons why we wanted to have Nat here is because of how

[00:02:06] instrumental he was in procuring a 147 million dollar federal grant for

[00:02:12] design and construction of the Emerald Trail as well as the

[00:02:15] development of the autonomous vehicle program and with all of that let's

[00:02:20] have Mike Tobler kick it off. Thank you Nat for being here with us today we really

[00:02:23] appreciate seeing you and we really appreciate what you do for a Jackson

[00:02:28] ville every day seven days a week it's pretty damn amazing. We've been hearing

[00:02:33] a lot about the Emerald Trail now it seems like for decades and I was one of

[00:02:38] those that had hoped it would get built and get done but was also

[00:02:43] skeptical that it wouldn't primarily because of its scope. Remind us of

[00:02:48] what the Emerald Trail is what it will do where it will go when it's finished and

[00:02:53] why so many people think its development is a key to the future of Jacksonville.

[00:02:58] The Emerald Trail is a 34 mile urban loop which will be bike walk

[00:03:04] pedestrian friendly connectivity for our downtown urban neighborhoods and

[00:03:10] over time there's been a number of projects that have bifurcated and

[00:03:16] separated segments of downtown and the adjoining neighborhoods. The Emerald Trail

[00:03:21] while it is clearly recreational in nature it has a pure function to which is

[00:03:27] connectivity and accessibility of these neighborhoods that are surrounding

[00:03:31] downtown Jacksonville. The JTA got involved as part of the local option the

[00:03:36] last local option gas tax extension where there was $132 million

[00:03:42] identified to finish off the remaining segments so there's a total of nine

[00:03:48] segments three of them are underway under construction between city of Jacksonville

[00:03:53] and Groundwork Jacks. Groundwork was really the visionaries behind this and

[00:03:58] hats off to K.E. House. She is a powerhouse when it comes to advocacy

[00:04:03] relentless. In fact I just left a meeting with her and what she's

[00:04:08] called advocate. Yes exactly and we need to have that in our community. She's been

[00:04:13] a champion for the project and the first three segments in partnership with the

[00:04:19] city they're under construction right but there's the remaining five segments

[00:04:23] total of eight remaining five segments that JTA along with city of Jacksonville

[00:04:29] and Groundwork are finishing and completing the right of way belongs to

[00:04:34] the city. Groundwork is doing all the public outreach and fundraising and

[00:04:38] in this particular case with the JTA getting the the responsibility for

[00:04:42] finishing those five segments as part of local option gas tax part of the

[00:04:47] strategy was what federal funding we could get to accelerate completion of

[00:04:52] the projects. They 147 million coupled with the 37 million dollars in local

[00:04:57] matching funds for a total of 183 million dollars to finish off those

[00:05:02] five segments and we are just so ecstatic as the JTA to be part of

[00:05:06] this frankly legacy project. This is a game changer and will bring us closer

[00:05:11] together as a community and we're very excited to be part of it. Give us a

[00:05:15] story behind the curtain. It was for the JTA from a strategic standpoint.

[00:05:24] We have our strategic plan move 2027 so when the discussion came along

[00:05:29] about the JTA taking responsibility for the construction elements of the

[00:05:33] remaining segments it's right in line with what we believe our vision should

[00:05:36] be. It should not be just buses and cars it should be mobility in its

[00:05:41] broader sense and holistic mobility in its broad sense so whether you bike,

[00:05:45] walk, jog, you name it it should be something that the JTA weighs in

[00:05:50] and uses this expertise to help develop in our community. Immediately

[00:05:56] upon it through that gas passing in 2020 we immediately began the work

[00:06:02] of advocating for funding for the Emerald Trail. There had been grant programs

[00:06:08] at the federal level reconnecting communities and things of that nature

[00:06:13] that were really geared towards fixing some of the ills that major

[00:06:18] transportation projects and infrastructure projects had created over

[00:06:22] time and some of these projects would impact particularly communities of

[00:06:26] color over time rail projects highway projects things that nature so the

[00:06:31] administration developed this pot in this particular case 3.1 billion

[00:06:36] dollars to try and address some of those ills we saw it as a great

[00:06:41] opportunity as the JTA in partnership with groundwork and the city our

[00:06:47] initial grant application we lost about two about three years ago we were

[00:06:52] unfortunate and we did not receive a ward of an agrar and it was a much

[00:06:57] smaller pot at that point and I believe we asked for about $25 million

[00:07:03] fast forward two years later they reconstituted the grant program put

[00:07:08] in 3.1 billion dollars and with in partnership with the groundwork

[00:07:13] and the city we decided to go for the entire amount the hundred tire

[00:07:17] 147 million dollars just throw caution to the wind let's go for the

[00:07:22] whole banana lifetime once in a lifetime generational kind of impact

[00:07:26] let's go for it we as the JTA have built up pretty strong track record

[00:07:31] with grant awards over the past I say 10 years or so so we're standing

[00:07:37] at about two hundred million dollars in competitive grants as we went

[00:07:41] after this grant so our track record raise grant build grant you name

[00:07:46] it we pretty much won the gamut we've run the table in terms of

[00:07:49] those different grants we've built up the trust and track record on

[00:07:54] delivering projects so we were optimistic on this reconnecting

[00:07:58] communities grant program number of meetings are we jolly mentioned her

[00:08:03] she was chair of the JTA board I recall in Seattle a number of years ago

[00:08:09] she along with Cleveland Ferguson we met with the build America Bureau

[00:08:15] in Seattle at a conference and talked about the Emerald Trail and

[00:08:18] how proud we were of having the responsibility of building it and

[00:08:22] last year Debbie Bucklin our current share we met with in Orlando we met

[00:08:27] with FTA and us dot representatives and once again pitching the Emerald Trail

[00:08:33] and then I think the icing on the cake was the trip back in

[00:08:36] November with the mayor and the key house from groundwork where we made

[00:08:42] the rounds we walk the halls we met with our congressional delegation

[00:08:45] we met with the officials for us dot and what I try to share with people

[00:08:52] is there were what five six hundred and eighty applications for this grant

[00:08:58] program a hundred and thirty two awards the JTA was number six out of a hundred

[00:09:05] and thirty two that doesn't happen because you wrote a very attractive

[00:09:09] and sexy application it's from traveling and talking to these different

[00:09:15] approving and rating agencies us dot build America Bureau FTA and breathing

[00:09:23] life into that application in the case of the mayor in the case of K. E. House

[00:09:28] you mentioned the advocacy having them sit at the table with these

[00:09:32] government officials and walking through what this will mean for this

[00:09:36] community in terms of this grant it's it's worth this weight and gold so you

[00:09:40] got to get out of the office you got to get out there and you got to

[00:09:43] talk to people and you got to advocate and campaign for this money and we were

[00:09:47] successful by the way this is this is not the first grant that has come to

[00:09:52] Jacksonville as a matter of fact you folks brought home in fact since two

[00:09:57] thousand and sixteen JTA's received another one hundred and eighty million

[00:10:01] dollars yes and by the way that bridges both Republican and Democrat

[00:10:07] administration so this was not a partisan issue it wasn't because of

[00:10:11] who was mayor or who is our governor or anything of that sort what does that say

[00:10:15] about the U. S. Department of Transportation and really give you a

[00:10:18] moment here to blow your own horn but what does it say about the reputation

[00:10:22] of the JTA in Washington to be able to even compete for this kind of money

[00:10:26] much less get those dollars yeah thank you for that question we deliver

[00:10:31] there are in this particular case there are highly competitive grants and

[00:10:38] they represent communities both Republican Democrat independent

[00:10:43] communities when you talk about infrastructure it's bipartisan to a

[00:10:46] large degree and I think there's one constant or a number of constants here

[00:10:51] with the JTA we submit very good applications we spend the time

[00:10:56] advocating between obviously our federal lobbyist but my traveling to

[00:11:01] D. C. my serving as the chairman of the American Public Transportation

[00:11:06] Association chairman of the Transportation Research Board for the

[00:11:09] National Academies of Sciences as we're walking in those circles we are

[00:11:14] advocating for the U. two C. project we're advocating for the first

[00:11:18] coast flyer B. R. T. we're advocating for the Emerald Trail in this case

[00:11:23] not when the application needs to be submitted in the deadline we're

[00:11:27] talking about it years in advance so when these opportunities come along

[00:11:31] it's not new you're laying the groundwork so we are laying a strong

[00:11:35] foundation that sounds like what I used to call lobbying

[00:11:41] but I do for that matter for this matter I know we're a little bit off

[00:11:45] scripting and Talbert's going to kill me for this but it goes back to what

[00:11:49] Jake was doing. This isn't something that you all just threw in the hot

[00:11:53] y'all plus the fact by way there's an old political attitude says it ain't

[00:11:57] bragging if you've done it and when you lay the groundwork what you said

[00:12:01] and you go and whether it would be Democrat Republican whatever it is

[00:12:04] they got to see you they got it they're asking the tough questions they want

[00:12:08] to know how you're going to use the money which is going to be the

[00:12:11] question we're going to ask here next but what they got to do is they want

[00:12:13] to understand there's a consistent strategic framework and a plan which

[00:12:19] is going to be transparent understood and they want to know how you're

[00:12:22] going to spend it and you're going to deliver and you got to deliver it

[00:12:25] and it is a team effort but to your point the people that you've

[00:12:30] talked about including yourself you need to be there you can't do this by

[00:12:34] phone they got to talk to you they got to have this interaction with you you

[00:12:38] have sit down a cup of coffee you got to talk about the kids you got to

[00:12:41] but they want to know about what you're going to do how you're going

[00:12:44] to do it and who's there with you and what what's the impact and as we

[00:12:49] keep saying you've got to deliver and there has been a number and Mike

[00:12:53] you may recall this there's been a number of these grant grants that

[00:12:57] we've been awarded we came in significantly under budget so they

[00:13:02] want to make sure that you're efficient the old age of under budget

[00:13:06] why under budget you spend up to the limit of the grant we've never

[00:13:10] done that as the JTA and we were very proud of the fact that we were

[00:13:14] probably the first agency when we built the green line first coast

[00:13:18] flyer we came in 12 million dollars under budget and did something

[00:13:22] rather unique which was to go back to you as DOT and say you know what

[00:13:27] we just built this first coast flyer bus rapid transit network but

[00:13:30] we're noticing that the sidewalk connectivity the bike connectivity

[00:13:37] and infrastructure is missing there so we spent hundreds of millions

[00:13:40] of dollars to build the first coast flyer BRT but we're not

[00:13:43] connecting the neighborhoods with this infrastructure and we were

[00:13:47] able to receive hold on to they allowed us which is very rare to

[00:13:52] hold on to seven million dollars of that 12 million and then we go

[00:13:56] and build the sidewalk so that level of success it resonates and

[00:14:00] these are career government officials they have memories and

[00:14:04] they recognize that if you invest in Jacksonville and in the JTA

[00:14:09] they're going to go beyond the project parameters and build

[00:14:13] something that is frankly much greater than what was originally

[00:14:16] planned and I take it that you all stage and touch with

[00:14:19] those people not just once or twice a year you stay more

[00:14:23] than best friends all year round right I don't want to publicly

[00:14:26] share all of it.

[00:14:29] But he's got a few.

[00:14:31] I don't want to share any of the secrets.

[00:14:34] 147 million real quick though.

[00:14:37] How does that 40 147 million going to do.

[00:14:41] How do you guess how are you going to.

[00:14:43] Yes the first step is we have to enter into negotiations

[00:14:47] with USD OT on the specific scope of work timeline and

[00:14:52] schedule that will take us six months to a year to actually

[00:14:56] do that work.

[00:14:57] Once that that grant agreement is signed signed by me and signed

[00:15:01] by USD OT then we begin the active in construction planning

[00:15:05] design engineering and construction process.

[00:15:08] Now we've begun some of that work with the local option gas

[00:15:11] tax dollars and we'll continue.

[00:15:13] We're not going to lose any time with that.

[00:15:15] And then it's on a reimbursement standpoint.

[00:15:17] It's great having the local option gas tax.

[00:15:20] We start the process of the work and then we submit invoices to

[00:15:24] the federal government and they reimburse us for that actual work.

[00:15:28] The split is an 80 20 percent split so 147 million federal

[00:15:33] funding and then 37 million that is going to actually come from

[00:15:37] the local option gas tax that was passed a couple of years ago

[00:15:40] a few years ago.

[00:15:41] I want to go back now to what you just discussed and

[00:15:45] that being all the trips you made and people you carried the

[00:15:50] water to over a period of long period of time.

[00:15:54] And I believe everything you said is absolutely important.

[00:15:57] I've seen it work before and I don't question you at all.

[00:16:02] But I do question the small town journalism that we saw last

[00:16:07] year that got on your case for all your trips and for what

[00:16:11] you get paid.

[00:16:13] How aggravating is that when something idiotic like that

[00:16:16] happened.

[00:16:17] As Mike mentioned I have had the opportunity to work around

[00:16:20] the country and there's always the challenge if you're sitting

[00:16:23] in a public space in a role like I have that there's going

[00:16:26] to be questions about decisions you're making and things

[00:16:29] that nature.

[00:16:30] You travel and work that we've done at the JTA we stand

[00:16:33] by because we do the greatest justification is the

[00:16:37] results.

[00:16:39] And when you're talking about in this particular case you

[00:16:41] mentioned two hundred million dollars since 2012 you had

[00:16:44] another hundred forty seven that's three hundred and fifty

[00:16:47] million dollars that I think the investment of the travel

[00:16:50] and the salaries I we have I think with our executive

[00:16:54] team some of the best and brightest individuals in

[00:16:56] this community working for the JTA they deliver they

[00:17:00] deliver on the projects they deliver on the policies

[00:17:03] they deliver in terms of this particular case the

[00:17:06] grants that we received and we've built up that level

[00:17:09] of trust when we talk about the travel and I hopefully

[00:17:12] all of this will be behind us at some point.

[00:17:15] I mentioned I was serving as the chairman of the American

[00:17:19] Public Transportation Association the highest level you

[00:17:22] could serve in our community around advocacy for funding

[00:17:26] for public transportation and then right on the heels

[00:17:28] of that as chairman of the Transportation Research Board

[00:17:32] we felt and the board of directors felt that those

[00:17:35] roles and responsibilities helped to put the JTA and

[00:17:39] Jacksonville in our initiatives in the minds of the

[00:17:43] decision makers who fund our initiatives and fund these

[00:17:47] types of programs and projects in addition to our

[00:17:50] leadership role in the industry.

[00:17:53] And so the JTA this juncture I think you mentioned it

[00:17:56] earlier Mike we are seen as one of the most innovative

[00:17:59] agencies in the country and a couple of what a couple

[00:18:02] of years ago we had the UITP group the Urban

[00:18:05] International Transportation Group.

[00:18:08] We hosted their annual meeting their North American

[00:18:11] meeting here in Jacksonville not Toronto not New

[00:18:16] York not Chicago not LA they came to Jacksonville.

[00:18:20] Why because they were hearing about the creative

[00:18:22] innovative things we were doing.

[00:18:24] I think there's always accountability to the public

[00:18:28] accountability to our media in terms of our

[00:18:31] decision making.

[00:18:32] We believe that we've made the right decisions in

[00:18:35] terms of the investments in travel and time it's

[00:18:39] brought back millions of dollars and notoriety

[00:18:41] did its community far beyond my sitting in the

[00:18:44] office five days seven days a week whatever it may

[00:18:48] be the perception.

[00:18:50] And speaking of perception and this is a

[00:18:52] challenge that JTA has had for as many years as

[00:18:55] I've known the organization much less work for

[00:18:58] but the public perception unfortunately.

[00:19:01] Yes is that they'll see a bus without full seats

[00:19:05] yes occupied they'll see the skyway which is

[00:19:08] oftentimes riding riderless and they'll see these

[00:19:12] kinds of operations that's the public face of

[00:19:15] JTA.

[00:19:16] And even when I was there one of my mantras to

[00:19:20] then the CEO Mike playlock was we've got a

[00:19:23] scream from the rafters every good thing that

[00:19:25] we're doing to offset that perception that

[00:19:29] we're running empty buses and empty

[00:19:31] skyways around the city.

[00:19:33] We have got to let them know that for every

[00:19:35] construction project we have there's got to be

[00:19:37] a sign this is your JTA at work.

[00:19:40] You've got to be able to really scream that

[00:19:42] out to the public to understand that this is

[00:19:45] more than a public bus company and that's

[00:19:48] always been a challenge that I think you've

[00:19:51] done a good job with this but I haven't

[00:19:54] seen the folks on the street understand just

[00:19:57] the complexity of the JTA and how different

[00:20:00] it is from what their public perception is.

[00:20:02] Yeah but the other thing is one to pick up on

[00:20:05] Mike Talbert would say it's one that you took

[00:20:08] the high road and number two that's what

[00:20:10] leadership is in that.

[00:20:12] But the other thing that people don't realize

[00:20:13] is you have an incredible board of directors

[00:20:16] and it is not just a lot your board if I'm

[00:20:19] not mistaken is half picked by the governor

[00:20:23] and half picked by the mayor.

[00:20:24] Now we're talking about two different political

[00:20:26] parties. Let me just tell you having done

[00:20:28] and Talbert will tell you had done it.

[00:20:30] We've done it 50 years.

[00:20:31] If the CEO is not doing something one of

[00:20:34] those board members who got elected by

[00:20:36] the other person is going to bring it out.

[00:20:38] That's right.

[00:20:39] My gut tells me that criticism came during

[00:20:42] ratings because the people that were

[00:20:44] shouting about you there at the bottom

[00:20:46] and that's about ratings.

[00:20:47] I just appreciate you all stay in the

[00:20:49] course but you've got an incredible board

[00:20:52] and let me tell you your track record speaks

[00:20:53] for itself.

[00:20:55] Tell them to go pound sand.

[00:20:56] We can do that.

[00:20:57] Let's talk about automated vehicles.

[00:20:59] Mike Miller.

[00:21:00] Yes sir.

[00:21:00] It was recently discussed of course in fact

[00:21:02] announced that there's a five month pilot

[00:21:04] project that's going on at the Jacksonville

[00:21:07] State College at Jacksonville I should say

[00:21:09] Florida State College FSCJ that will be

[00:21:11] allowing students to test and grade

[00:21:13] their use of self driving technology.

[00:21:15] I know you guys have worked with

[00:21:16] FSCJ you've got classes actually

[00:21:19] operating right now to help with this

[00:21:21] technology so that we can train a

[00:21:23] workforce to be able to help with it

[00:21:25] once this gets off the ground.

[00:21:27] But tell us about the U2C project

[00:21:29] and how that also intertwines with the

[00:21:30] Emerald Trail.

[00:21:31] Yeah you've heard me say this before

[00:21:33] it's not a question of if it's a

[00:21:35] question of when on these autonomous

[00:21:36] vehicles and the challenge we had

[00:21:39] was the Skyway and its obsolescence

[00:21:41] and it is an automated system.

[00:21:44] However the way it's designed it

[00:21:46] can't operate at street level.

[00:21:47] So we made the decision with

[00:21:50] the Skyway Advisory Committee where we

[00:21:52] brought in a number of individuals

[00:21:54] both supporters and detractors of the

[00:21:56] Skyway.

[00:21:57] They unanimously stated that we

[00:22:00] should keep the Skyway and find a way

[00:22:01] to expand it.

[00:22:02] Now when you do the math and you look

[00:22:04] at the technology that wasn't the

[00:22:06] right way to go in terms of the

[00:22:08] exact Skyway the way it's currently

[00:22:10] formed.

[00:22:11] Let's take advantage of the two and

[00:22:12] a half mile aerial structure but

[00:22:14] then develop a network for downtown

[00:22:17] that moves people quickly and efficiently

[00:22:19] smaller vehicles going back to your

[00:22:21] point with larger vehicles and

[00:22:24] half empty vehicles things that nature

[00:22:26] but look at a system that is much

[00:22:27] more scalable.

[00:22:28] You could grow it when you have

[00:22:30] special events.

[00:22:31] You can shrink it when you don't have

[00:22:32] special events and not every vehicle

[00:22:34] is dependent on having a driver.

[00:22:37] There is a place for that.

[00:22:38] Big bus operation.

[00:22:40] But for what we're doing in

[00:22:41] downtown smaller vehicles

[00:22:44] driverless operating autonomously

[00:22:46] is the way to go.

[00:22:47] The partnership with FSEJ started

[00:22:49] back in 2020 also.

[00:22:51] We have done we've tested over eight

[00:22:53] different models of autonomous

[00:22:55] vehicles.

[00:22:55] We wanted to be just as smart

[00:22:58] as the technologists who are

[00:22:59] developing this technology if we

[00:23:01] were going to make an investment

[00:23:03] of taxpayer dollars and it's paid

[00:23:05] off.

[00:23:05] We now understand developing

[00:23:08] curriculum.

[00:23:08] We understand how these technologies

[00:23:11] in the systems work light our

[00:23:13] radar sonar you name it there's

[00:23:15] they're very complex pieces of

[00:23:17] equipment.

[00:23:19] The partnership of FSEJ came

[00:23:21] about because we recognize

[00:23:23] that the workforce of the future

[00:23:25] needed to understand these

[00:23:26] technologies.

[00:23:27] What better partner than FSEJ.

[00:23:30] They have the testing facilities

[00:23:32] that we could utilize.

[00:23:33] We could develop the curriculum

[00:23:35] and they would be frankly the

[00:23:37] workforce of the future for these

[00:23:39] autonomous vehicles.

[00:23:41] Tell us about the challenges of

[00:23:42] by America.

[00:23:44] Major challenge.

[00:23:45] So while there were a number of

[00:23:47] companies that started out with

[00:23:49] those first as I mentioned first

[00:23:51] eight or so vehicles that different

[00:23:53] models that we tested if there's

[00:23:55] no market immediate for those

[00:23:57] investors and for those

[00:23:59] researchers and developers it's

[00:24:01] very tough for them to stay afloat

[00:24:03] in terms of salaries and

[00:24:05] equipment things that nature.

[00:24:07] There is no U.S.

[00:24:08] based manufacturer of autonomous

[00:24:10] vehicles at this point yet.

[00:24:13] Yet.

[00:24:15] Somebody's been whispering in

[00:24:16] your ear.

[00:24:18] But you know.

[00:24:19] Entrepreneurship.

[00:24:19] Yeah exactly.

[00:24:21] Where there's a void someone's

[00:24:23] going to come in and fill it.

[00:24:24] By America 70 percent of the

[00:24:27] vehicle has to be built here in

[00:24:29] the United States assembled

[00:24:31] from a component standpoint

[00:24:32] and assembly standpoint

[00:24:34] because we have a build grant

[00:24:36] a federally funded project we

[00:24:38] have to comply with by

[00:24:39] America to maintain that grant

[00:24:42] some of the work we have been

[00:24:43] doing nationally and

[00:24:44] internationally is to identify

[00:24:47] a manufacturer to build

[00:24:49] autonomous vehicles in the

[00:24:51] United States and I believe

[00:24:53] we've been successful.

[00:24:55] That work started a number of

[00:24:57] years ago and we're excited

[00:24:59] about the potential outcome

[00:25:00] because the jobs that are

[00:25:02] created developing these types

[00:25:04] of vehicles are significantly

[00:25:07] higher paying jobs on average

[00:25:09] in this community.

[00:25:10] I would I would just sit here

[00:25:11] recalling when the skyway

[00:25:13] express I was working for Mayor

[00:25:15] Tansler.

[00:25:16] I was an aide to Mayor Tansler

[00:25:17] when that conversation first

[00:25:19] began and then an aide to

[00:25:22] Godbow when it continued and

[00:25:24] really got serious and I was

[00:25:27] working in the 1987 mayoral

[00:25:29] campaign for a candidate

[00:25:31] when Tommy Hazuri won at every

[00:25:33] candidate in that race was

[00:25:36] opposed to starting the

[00:25:37] construction of the Skyway

[00:25:39] Express.

[00:25:40] There are a lot of skeptics

[00:25:41] of any project.

[00:25:42] Dane Orenbridge was a bridge

[00:25:44] to nowhere and thank God we have

[00:25:46] it.

[00:25:47] They may have been a little

[00:25:48] right about the Skyway but

[00:25:51] I know you got skeptics about

[00:25:52] the autonomous vehicles.

[00:25:55] Why are they wrong?

[00:25:56] I think the question is this

[00:25:58] technology is coming and it

[00:26:00] will be those cities and

[00:26:02] communities that leverage

[00:26:04] these new technologies.

[00:26:05] The same thing as our cell

[00:26:07] phones and some of these other

[00:26:09] new technology devices that

[00:26:11] have developed over the years

[00:26:14] in terms of the Skyway I'm

[00:26:16] fully aware of its history.

[00:26:18] I didn't build it but I am

[00:26:19] well aware of the history and

[00:26:21] I think the challenge is what

[00:26:24] would be the conversation today

[00:26:26] if that Skyway was fully built

[00:26:28] out to the 10 mile network that

[00:26:30] it was originally designed to

[00:26:32] be.

[00:26:32] So what we're trying to do is

[00:26:35] leverage I guess that expression

[00:26:37] of making lemonade out of

[00:26:38] lemons.

[00:26:39] We have an infrastructure that

[00:26:41] is two and a half miles.

[00:26:43] It's probably got another 30 to

[00:26:45] 40 years of life in it and

[00:26:47] probably most importantly

[00:26:49] it's got federal investment in

[00:26:50] it.

[00:26:51] And there are federal clawbacks

[00:26:53] related to not fully

[00:26:55] utilizing or tearing down

[00:26:57] a federally invested

[00:26:59] infrastructure like the

[00:27:00] Skyway.

[00:27:01] So one of the things we

[00:27:02] identified very early on

[00:27:05] is that the federal government

[00:27:06] was not going to give us a

[00:27:08] ramp from that commitment

[00:27:10] and we were talking about that

[00:27:12] just today.

[00:27:13] We have not identified one

[00:27:14] federally funded project in

[00:27:16] transportation around the nation

[00:27:18] where a community

[00:27:20] invested took federal funds

[00:27:22] invested in a project and then

[00:27:23] walked away with it without that

[00:27:25] penalty of having to pay back

[00:27:27] those funds.

[00:27:28] So it's it was great

[00:27:31] in this particular case.

[00:27:33] The marrying of new technology

[00:27:35] with this ancient in our case

[00:27:37] 30 plus year infrastructure

[00:27:40] was a elegant solution to move

[00:27:42] it forward.

[00:27:43] Tonomous vehicles are coming

[00:27:44] but how can we leverage the

[00:27:46] existing infrastructure

[00:27:47] satisfy the federal requirement

[00:27:49] and then build something that

[00:27:51] would be probably the first of

[00:27:52] its kind in the nation of scale

[00:27:55] autonomous public transportation

[00:27:57] network that frankly we could

[00:27:59] run seven days a week 24

[00:28:01] hours a day because

[00:28:03] it's operator driverless

[00:28:06] and it's really a control

[00:28:08] center monitoring those vehicles.

[00:28:10] So there are some skeptics

[00:28:11] vision courage.

[00:28:12] That's how that's how the New

[00:28:14] York subway system and some of

[00:28:15] these other projects that

[00:28:17] people envy around that Marder

[00:28:19] skeptics.

[00:28:21] I think it takes a certain

[00:28:22] amount of fortitude, courage

[00:28:23] and vision and tenacity

[00:28:26] tenacity and we have

[00:28:27] that at the JTA.

[00:28:29] We're glad you that.

[00:28:30] Thank you so very much for

[00:28:31] visiting us.

[00:28:31] I know you've got a busy

[00:28:32] schedule so we're going to

[00:28:33] let you go.

[00:28:34] Please come back.

[00:28:35] We haven't talked about the

[00:28:36] innovation corridor which we

[00:28:37] have to talk about.

[00:28:38] That's a lot to talk about.

[00:28:39] We just scratched the surface

[00:28:41] of the U 2 C project and we

[00:28:43] really want to get into that.

[00:28:44] Love to come back.

[00:28:45] Love to be here.

[00:28:45] Love to get up.

[00:28:45] Please do.

[00:28:46] We would love to have you.

[00:28:47] OK everybody next week

[00:28:48] Michael Binder will be back

[00:28:50] with us from the public

[00:28:51] opinion research lab and one

[00:28:53] of the things I know I'm

[00:28:54] going to be talking about is

[00:28:55] the recent state Supreme

[00:28:57] Court rulings regarding two

[00:28:59] ballot initiatives that are

[00:29:00] going to be screaming from

[00:29:02] the high heels.

[00:29:03] One dealing with abortion

[00:29:04] rights the other with

[00:29:05] recreational marijuana.

[00:29:07] So we'll have a lot to talk

[00:29:08] about with Mr. Binder Dr.

[00:29:10] Binder next week here on the

[00:29:11] program.

[00:29:12] Thank you all for very for

[00:29:13] joining us today.

[00:29:13] We appreciate it.

[00:29:15] Catch us on your favorite

[00:29:16] podcast platform and if

[00:29:18] you'd like to leave us a

[00:29:19] message go to Facebook or

[00:29:20] website or anywhere else

[00:29:22] and we'll be happy to read

[00:29:23] them and maybe even make it

[00:29:24] on the air.

[00:29:24] Thanks for joining us

[00:29:25] everybody and we'll talk to

[00:29:26] you again.

[00:29:27] Thank y'all.

[00:29:28] Thank you.

[00:29:29] Mike's on Mike with Mike

[00:29:30] Tolbert Mike Hightower

[00:29:32] and Mike Miller can be

[00:29:33] found on your favorite

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[00:29:36] and YouTube.

[00:29:38] Visit the website at

[00:29:39] Mike's on Mike dot com.

[00:29:41] Join us next time for more

[00:29:42] conversation with Mike's

[00:29:44] on Mike.

[00:29:48] Mike.