In March, Navier will launch a pilot program to provide water transit services to Bay Area commuters. Stripe, the financial infrastructure platform for businesses, will be Navier's initial partner in the program, with Navier providing water shuttle services for Stripe employees from Larkspur, Calif., to Stripe's U.S. headquarters in south San Francisco, Calif.
"Navier's mission is to introduce the next generation of high-speed, zero-emissions water transportation, starting right here in the Bay Area. This pilot program will connect parts of the Bay Area where traditional ferries are not available, cutting commutes that take an hour or more to less than 30 minutes door-to-door – all with no carbon emissions,” said Sampriti Bhattacharyya, co-founder and CEO of Navier. "The pilot program with Stripe will provide a valuable case study as we explore ways to efficiently reduce employee commute times and emissions in coastal cities. Today, 46 percent of the world's population lives in crowded coastal areas, which continue to struggle with traffic congestion, fossil fuel pollution and a lack of affordable housing options. Our pilot program demonstrates a clear path forward for these cities to reduce traffic, costs and emissions, connect business hubs with more affordable areas and unlock the productive potential of millions of workers who would otherwise spend uncounted hours stuck in traffic."
Transportation services under the Stripe pilot program will be operated by Navier Mobility, the company's water transit arm. Navier will provide one of its flagship N30 six-passenger boats at launch in March 2024, followed by another five to seven boats thereafter. The company plans to add passenger boats with significantly expanded capacity to the service in the near future.
Navier’s driving force
Navier notes its goal is to change the future of water travel by creating the next generation of clean, high-speed water transit. Its flagship vessel, the N30, is an all-electric hydrofoil boat, with a design that reduces operational costs to $0.38 per mile. The N30 has a range of 100 miles at cruising speed, which Navier says is the longest range of any electric boat in the world.
Navier claims the N30 addresses the cost and comfort challenges smaller boats in the 24- to 45-foot range encounter when scaling for transportation services. The N30 eliminates hydrodynamic resistance and provides a smooth, quiet ride with no sea sickness. It also eliminates the extensive infrastructure needed to operate large ferries - as it can operate from any marina - creating opportunities for more frequent, more efficient trips with higher capacity utilization.
The N30 currently seats six passengers. Navier is also developing expanded models that will seat up to 30 passengers for higher-traffic routes. Navier estimates that each 30-passenger hydrofoil model will reduce automobile usage by the equivalent of 120 cars, with a commensurate reduction in traffic and carbon emissions in coastal cities.
In addition to reducing pollution and congestion, high-speed zero-emission water transit can provide significant quality-of-life benefits for workers in coastal cities like San Francisco, Calif., New York, N.Y., Seattle, Wash., and others. Navier hopes to eventually connect Oyster Point, Calif., in south San Francisco to Alameda, Calif., allowing workers to more easily live in and commute from a location that has 30 percent lower housing prices.