[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.