A San Francisco startup, Navier, has announced a first-of-its-kind pilot program to provide water transit services to Bay Area commuters. Stripe will be Navier’s initial partner in this program, with Navier providing water shuttle services for Stripe employees from Larkspur, California, to Stripe’s US headquarters in South San Francisco.
Stripe’s transportation services will be operated by Navier Mobility’s water transit arm as part of their pilot program. Navier Mobility will provide their flagship N30 6-passenger boat at launch in March 2024, followed by additional boats in the future.
Navier Mobility aims to revolutionize water travel by creating the next generation of clean, high-speed water transit. Their N30 vessel is America’s first all-electric hydrofoil boat and has a unique design that significantly reduces operational costs to only $0.38 per mile, a 10x reduction compared to traditional boats. Additionally, the N30 has the longest range of any electric boat in the world, covering 100 miles at cruising speed.
Navier’s N30 boat addresses the challenges faced by smaller boats in the 24-45 ft range, such as cost and comfort, making them unfit for scalable transportation. The N30 glides four feet above the water, providing a smooth, quiet ride with no sea sickness while also eliminating the extensive infrastructure needed to operate large ferries.
Navier’s engineering team includes experts with experience at NASA, Google X, Amazon Robotics, Apple, and Ferrari, among others, who have designed and ramped up production of the N30 in less than two years.
The N30 model can carry six passengers, while the future models will have a capacity of up to 30 passengers for busier routes. Navier claims that each 30-passenger boat will reduce the equivalent of 120 cars on the road, leading to less traffic and carbon emissions in coastal cities.
High-speed zero-emission water transit can provide significant quality-of-life benefits for workers in coastal cities like San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and more.
“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,” said Sampriti Bhattacharyya, Co-Founder and CEO of Navier. “Today, 46% 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.”
Navier envisions a future where every marina becomes a transportation hub, driving increased opportunity, real estate development, and economic activity by transforming waterways into highways.
