The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the independent agency responsible for

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

in the city of

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. However, they do not maintain any roadways. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

History

In 1955, the Florida Legislature established the

Jacksonville Expressway Authority The Jacksonville Expressway Authority was an independent entity established by the Florida Legislature in 1955. They owned and maintained roads and bridges in Duval County, including several toll bridges, mostly across the St. Johns River. In 1971 ...

. Its responsibility was limited to highways, bridges and tolls in Duval County until 1971, when the Jacksonville Transportation Authority was formed by a merger of the Jacksonville Expressway Authority with several private

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

companies.

Governance

The JTA is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors. The mayor of Jacksonville appoints three members who must be confirmed by the

Jacksonville City Council The Jacksonville City Council is the legislative governing body of the city of Jacksonville, Florida. The council meets in its chambers at Jacksonville City Hall, 117 W. Duval St. Under Florida’s government transparency laws, all official co ...

; the Florida Governor appoints three members who must be confirmed by the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

. Each member serves a four-year, unpaid term and can be re-appointed for a second term. If a member serves eight consecutive years, they must rotate off the board. From its membership, the Board elects its own Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer for one year terms. The seventh member is the District Two Secretary from the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...

(FDOT) who serves as long as s/he is employed in the position. That individual is responsible for the FDOT activities within the 18 counties of the district, including administrative, planning and operations. As of September 2022, members included Ari Jolly, chair; Debbie Buckland, vice chair; G. Ray Driver, secretary; Abel Harding, treasurer; Greg Evans, FDOT District Two Secretary; Kevin Holzendorf, board member; and Aundra Wallace, board member.

Revenue

Originally, when a bridge or roadway was completed, a toll was imposed at that location to create a revenue stream to repay bonds used to fund construction. State and federal tax money was used for specific capital projects, such as interstate highways.

Gas surcharge

The

approved a 10-year, 6¢ per gallon gasoline surcharge in 1986 to pay for new roadways and other transportation projects. Prior to its expiration in 1996, the council extended the tax for 20 additional years, until 2016.Hannan, Larry
"JTA to ask council for gas tax increase and extension"
Florida Times-Union, June 5, 2010 In 2021, the City Council approved a further extension and increase to 12¢ per gallon in order to pay for infrastructure projects including the Emerald Trail system and the Ultimate Urban Circulator project to convert the Skyway monorail into an autonomous vehicle network.

Tolls

J. Turner Butler Boulevard, the

Fuller Warren Bridge The Fuller Warren Bridge is the prestressed-concrete girder bridge that carries Interstate 95 (I-95) across the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. The current structure was finished in October 2002, replacing the original bascul ...

Mathews Bridge The Mathews Bridge is a cantilever bridge in Jacksonville, Florida, which spans the St. Johns River. Constructed in 1953, the bridge brings traffic along the Arlington Expressway between downtown Jacksonville and the Arlington neighborhood. It ...

Hart Bridge The Isaiah David Hart Bridge is a truss bridge that spans the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. It carries U.S. Route 1 Alternate (US 1 Alt.) and State Road 228 (SR 228). It is named after Isaiah Hart, the founder o ...

and

Trout River Bridge The Trout River Bridge is a six lane segmental bridge carrying Interstate 95 across Trout River, north of downtown Jacksonville, Florida. It is the third crossing of I-95 south of Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country ...

were tolled by JTA until 1988, when Jacksonville voters approved a ½¢ sales tax increase to pay off the toll bonds, fund future road construction, and abolish toll collections.

Growth management

JTA was the major beneficiary of the $2.25 billion

Better Jacksonville Plan The Better Jacksonville Plan is a growth management plan implemented by the city of Jacksonville, Florida. It was the signature project of Mayor John Delaney. It was approved by Jacksonville voters on September 5, 2000. Lex Hester was a key advis ...

(BJP), passed by voters in September, 2000. Roadway/drainage improvements, resurfacing, new sidewalks and railroad grade crossings accounted for $1.5 billion, of which half was funded by the BJP ½¢ sales tax increase and half from the existing gasoline surcharge. In 2005, the JTA and city re-prioritized the projects still outstanding. The actual cost for most projects had significantly exceeded the estimate due to an 18-month lag time and an unanticipated increase in the price of construction materials. Dozens of projects were deferred to the future and removed from the BJP or left on a $320 million list of unfunded tasks.

Budget

The gasoline surcharge generates approximately $30 million in revenue each year, about one third of JTA's budget of $100 million in 2010. Prior to the 1986 gasoline surcharge, tolls were the primary source of local revenue for the JTA. Federal and state highway money provided the balance. In early June, 2010, JTA announced their intentions to request an extension of the 6¢ per gallon gasoline surcharge, due to expire in 2016. They will also ask the council for an additional 5¢ per gallon tax over 30 years that would generate another $25 million per year, for a total of $55 million each year. Most council members questioned the need to extend the existing tax and were opposed to any new tax during difficult economic times, but JTA executives warned that if the gas taxes are curtailed, no road construction will occur and bus service will be slashed.

Responsibilities

The mission of the JTA is to improve Northeast Florida’s economy, environment and quality of life by providing safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable multimodal transportation services and facilities.

Roadway infrastructure

The JTA develops and implements construction and financing plans for state and city roads, bridges and interchanges in conjunction with the city government and the

. This was the original role of the Expressway Authority.

Public transit

* Regular

service: JTA's fleet has 220 vehicles, as of 2015, that travel 8.5 million miles per year on 56 routes; 110 maintenance workers and 320 drivers are employed. * Express

service: five once-daily early morning routes are offered which originate from an outlying area and go directly to their destination with no intermediate stops, then return in late afternoon. *

First Coast Flyer The First Coast Flyer is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jacksonville, Florida, owned and operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). It currently consists of four radial routes running north, southwest, southeast, and east fr ...

: a

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

(BRT) system; all four planned routes are now in operation."First Coast Flyer"
(2016). www.jtafla.com. Jacksonville Transportation Authority. Retrieved May 11, 2018. * Trolley-replica buses: local transportation available weekdays from mid-morning to early afternoon; Bay Street and Beaver Street (downtown) routes are free; Riverside and the Beach trolley have a minimal charge but also run on weekends. * JTA Connexion:

paratransit Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...

for the disabled and elderly, provided by private vendors with specially equipped vehicles and drivers. * Stadium shuttle: game day bus transportation from suburban, downtown and Park-n-Ride locations to the stadium and back. *

Jacksonville Skyway The Jacksonville Skyway is an automated people mover in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). Opening in 1989 with three stations in Downtown Jacksonville, the Skyway was extended in 19 ...

: Automated

people mover A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks. ...

system which travels 2.5 miles from the King Street parking garage across the St. Johns River and through the central business district, ending at LaVilla or the Florida State College at Jacksonville downtown campus. * Park-n-Ride: Parking facility available in combination with express bus service or JTA Skyway. *

Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

(JRTC): JTA opened a new

intermodal transit Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths (and offset the weaknesses) of various transportati ...

center in May, 2020, bringing together

, JTA bus,

intercity bus An intercity bus service (North American English) or intercity coach service (British English and Commonwealth English), also called a long-distance, express, over-the-road, commercial, long-haul, or highway bus or coach service, is a public tr ...

, and rail service in one facility. JRTC replaced the aging and overcrowded

Rosa Parks Transit Station Rosa Parks Transit Station is an intermodal transit station in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. It is operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and previously served as Jacksonville's main city bus station as well as a station for the ...

. JRTC is situated across the street from the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center.

Future transit

First Coast Commuter Rail The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the independent agency responsible for public transit in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. However, they do not maintain any roadways. ...

: JTA is undertaking evaluations for a future

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

system. * Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C): JTA is undertaking a project to modernize and replace the

by converting and expanding the automated people mover into an autonomous vehicle (AV) network.

Hurricanes

The JTA has the responsibility to identify, plan and prepare Jacksonville's

hurricane evacuation route Hurricane evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hurricane. County judges, emergency managers and other officials may recommend a voluntary evacuation or order a mandatory evacuatio ...

s. The JTA and the city of Jacksonville established a ''Hurricane Preparedness Plan'' that will provide emergency evacuation/patient transport and move civilians and/or emergency service personnel with mass transit.

Routes

On December 1, 2014, JTA underwent a complete system redesign called Route Optimization. This was to provide more frequent, more direct, and more reliable service. The current routes as follows.

Local Bus Routes

*1 North Main *2 Lem Turner *3 Moncrief *4 Kings *8 Beach / Town Center *10 Atlantic *11 A. Philip Randolph *12 Myrtle / Lem Turner *13 Commonwealth / Lane *14 Edison / Normandy *16 Riverside / Wilson *17 St. Augustine *18 Atlantic / Monument *19 Arlington *21 Boulevard/ Gateway *22 Avenue B *23 Townsend / Southside *24 Mayport *25 San Jose *26 Collins (service west of Rampart Road replaced by ReadiRide Oakleaf on December 2, 2019) *27 Philips / Avenues *28 Southside / Sunbeam *30 Cecil / Blanding (renamed from 30 Cecil on December 5, 2016; sections replaced by ReadiRide Southwest on December 3, 2018) *31 FSCJ Kent Campus/Argyle Village *32 McDuff *33 Spring Park / Philips *50 University *51 Edgewood *53 Commonwealth / Cassat *80 NAS Shuttle *81 Dinsmore Shuttle *82 Armsdale / Duval *84 Philips / Gran Bay *85 Highlands / Busch Drive *86 Northside *102 First Coast Flyer Green *105 First Coast Flyer Orange *107 First Coast Flyer Blue *109 First Coast Flyer Red *500 St Johns River Ferry

Trolleys

*71 Riverside/Avondale Night Trolley (only runs the first full weekend of the month, on Friday and Saturday from 6pm until 2am)

Express Routes

*200 Mandarin Express *201 Clay Regional Express *202 Mayport Express *205 Beaches Express

Former Routes

*2 Lem Turner (converted to First Coast Flyer and renamed route 102 First Coast Flyer Green on December 7, 2015; local stops served by extended route 12 and new route 21) *7 Philips (converted to First Coast Flyer and renamed route 107 First Coast Flyer Blue on December 5, 2016; local stops served by new route 27) *9 Arlington / Beach (converted to First Coast Flyer and renamed route 109 First Coast Flyer Red on December 3, 2018; local stops served by routes 8, 10, and new Coastal Cab Southside service, which was replaced by ReadiRide Southside on July 1, 2019) *31 Talleyrand (Replaced by ReadiRide Talleyrand on December 2, 2019) *34 Blanding / Edgewood (mostly merged into route 30 on December 5, 2016; rest discontinued) *35 Sunbeam / Baymeadows (combined with part of route 23 to form new route 28 Southside / Sunbeam on December 3, 2018) *70 Beaches Trolley (Discontinued in September 2016; only ran from May-September each year; replaced by Beachside Buggies service) *83 Soutel / Pritchard (Replaced by ReadiRide Pritchard on December 2, 2019) *203 NAS Shuttle (renumbered route 80 on December 5, 2016) *204 Dinsmore Shuttle (renumbered route 81 on December 5, 2016) *300 Dunn / Pritchard Community Shuttle (replaced by new route 83 Soutel / Pritchard on December 3, 2018; rest covered by route 81) *301 Oakleaf Community Shuttle (replaced by new route 26 Collins on December 3, 2018) *302 Southeast Community Shuttle (replaced by new route 84 Philips / Gran Bay and new ReadiRide Southeast on December 3, 2018) *303 Beaches Community Shuttle (replaced by ReadiRide Beaches on December 3, 2018) *304 Mandarin Community Shuttle (discontinued on December 3, 2016 due to low ridership; restored on May 8, 2017 as Coastal Cab service; this service was replaced by ReadiRide Mandarin on July 1, 2019) *305 Highlands Community Shuttle (replaced by new route 85 Highlands / Busch Drive and new ReadiRide Highlands on December 3, 2018) *306 Heckscher Community Shuttle (merged into route 305 in August 2015) *307 Northside Community Shuttle (replaced by new route 86 Northside and new ReadiRide Northside on December 3, 2018) *308 Arlington Community Shuttle (replaced by Coastal Cab service on December 3, 2018; this service was replaced by ReadiRide Arlington July 1, 2019)

First Coast Commuter Rail

First Coast Commuter Rail is a proposed commuter rail system serving

Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

and northeast Florida. It is currently in the planning stages, having completed the first step of a feasibility study and currently pursuing an alternatives analysis. Three routes were analyzed in depth, north to

Yulee, FL Yulee is a Census county division (CCD) in Nassau County, Florida, United States. The population is currently 28,798 as of April 2018. Yulee is part of the Jacksonville metropolitan area, which was home to 1,504,980 people in 2017. Today, t ...

, southwest to

Green Cove Springs, FL Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the porti ...

and the southeast to St. Augustine, FL. A feasibility study was completed in November 2009 for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). James Boyle, JTA's regional transportation planner, has since said that there are no fatal flaws in the study. JTA hired a consultant to conduct a feasibility study in early 2008 at the cost of $400,000. It was completed in November 2009. The study looked into 7 routes, most along existing freight rail right of ways. Three of these, north to

, southwest to

and the southeast to St. Augustine, FL were selected for in depth study. In the Summer of 2010, JTA allocated $1 Million for an Alternative Analysis study on the proposed system. This is a required step to participate in the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) New Starts program. In May 2013, St. Augustine City Commission voted in a resolution supporting the proposal of a commuter train service on the southeast corridor. JTA says that the federal government could fund half of the southeast corridor project, estimated to cost about $193.3 million. The proposal still needs approval from St. Johns County, The North Florida Transportation Planning Organization board, and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority board. As of 2018, First Coast Commuter Rail is still in the planning stages and no funding has been identified for its implementation. FC Commuter Rail

All routes in the in-depth study start in downtown Jacksonville and head out in one of three directions: North (to Yulee), South (to Green Cove Springs), and Southeast (to St. Augustine). The North Corridor originates in Downtown Jacksonville, and heads North along the abandoned S-Line to the CSX Kingsland division line to

. The Kingsland division line is a remnant of the

Seaboard Air Line The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

's mainline. The route passes two miles (3 km) from

Jacksonville International Airport Jacksonville International Airport is a civil-military public airport 13 miles (21 km) north of Downtown Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. History Construction star ...

. The Southwest Corridor originates in Downtown Jacksonville, and heads South along the CSX A-Line to

. The Southeast Corridor originates in Downtown Jacksonville, and heads Southeast along the

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a pr ...

's main line to St. Augustine, closely following U.S. 1, known as Philips Highway in Jacksonville and Ponce de Leon Boulevard in St. Augustine . The proposed route would share the railbed with the northernmost part of a freight rail line to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. The heavily trafficked corridor already serves 17 regularly scheduled interregional freight trains per day, a figure which does not include

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

service, unscheduled freight trains, and other services. The 2009 feasibility study estimated that this route could carry an estimated 5,469 passengers in 2020 on trains between

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

and St. Augustine. Travel time is estimated at 51 minutes end to end, comparable to travel time by car. Notable proposed stops along the route include the J. Turner Butler Freeway, The Avenues, Race Track Road/ Nocatee, the massive mixed-use residential/commercial development at Palencia, West St. Augustine, the

Northeast Florida Regional Airport Northeast Florida Regional Airport , is located approximately four miles (6 km) north of historic St. Augustine, in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. NFRA serves as a key connection point for air travel in the Northeast Florida regio ...

(not to be confused with the much larger and busier

almost 50 miles to the north), the St. Johns County Government Complex, and its terminus in Downtown St. Augustine.

References

External links

Official websiteFDOT District 2
{{Coord, 30.330763, -81.676686, display=title Toll road authorities of the United States Government of Jacksonville, Florida Transportation in Jacksonville, Florida Special districts of Florida 1971 establishments in Florida