JTA Plans to Transform Bus Travel in Jacksonville

[Metro Jacksonville]

JTA Plans to Transform Bus Travel in Jacksonville



The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) desires to transform bus travel in Jacksonville as part of the Blueprint 2020, a five-year strategic plan to enhance the economic viability of greater Jacksonville. According to the JTA, the Route Optimization Initiative (ROI) overhauls bus operations to meet the demands of 21st Century commuters and occasional riders who want to get where they are going quickly, safely and efficiently.

Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2014-jul-jta-plans-to-transform-bus-travel-in-jacksonville

[Rob68]

When are these people going to actually listen to its citizens?....NO MORE BUSES....unless they are solar...lets support this "Metropolitan" city stepping into the 21st century.

[thelakelander]

I'm a big fan of fixed transit. I'm even planning to hop on SEPTA in Philly today. However, it would be a waste to invest in it without having a half decent bus system to support it by feeding riders into it.  The service frequencies on half of our bus routes are totally unacceptable for a city our size.  Just about anything JTA can do at this point, can be considered an improvement.

[Ocklawaha]

Absolutely! There is no one in the state that wants rail in our cities more then I do, but we'd be fooling ourselves if we thought rail would long survive without a comprehensive bus transit compliment. Up till now, any corridor with enough traffic for rail would not have the connectivity to grow and though they may never admit it, what JTA is doing is a huge step in the right direction for rail.

[IrvAdams]

^^ Agree. Simply having more frequent, predictable routes and a smart phone tie-in for scheduling is a leap forward. They have to start somewhere, and the new leadership and some of their recent moves have been impressive.

[Tacachale]

Just the quickest look shows this would be an improvement. Almost anything would be. Good for JTA.

[PeeJayEss]

Increasing frequency, extending hours, real-time info (like the Night Trolley, I hope), route optimization, and eliminating redundancies! I know we're talking about buses, but this is a really positive development, particularly if it includes incorporating the Skyway into the total system. These are the quick and cheap fixes discussed on these boards ad nauseum that would improve our transit system while feeding the Skyway and improving the outlook and perception of fixed mass transit going forward.

JTA really seems to be making some changes for the better.

[Ocklawaha]

These improvements will have to be made if we are ever to have a functioning successful fixed guideway system in Jacksonville, however, we are talking about JTA here so I'll withhold judgement (and kudos') until we see if they can pull this off. Remember we are talking about the same 'authority' that brought us the Skyway, the Potato Chip Truck PTC buses, BRT under the Skyway, Skyway to the Gator Bowl, People mover - no, um, monorail - no um maybe something different, Billion dollar BRT plan, 'Rail is not a good fit for Jacksonville,' ''The people hate rail - they love buses,' quotes and, the Vatican City sized JRTC plan. The jury is out!

[Bike Jax]

JTA should look to Houston for an example of a completely overhauled system done right. Houston was pretty much a mirror of the current system JTA is running. Houston bus system has about the same amount of area to cover as does JTA, yet Houston was able to change 1 hour headways into 15 min across the system while also realizing that having limited weekend hours was detrimental to increasing ridership and putting those that rely on the bus in massive time constraints for getting to and from work, school, and shopping on the weekends. 

As a car free citizen of Duval I will be at as many of these meetings as I can.

[Buforddawg]

To add my 2 cents, I think bus stops are too close together in Jacksonville.  Is the Skyway running on the weekends?  I remember last year, or gee maybe the year before that,  trying to ride it on a Saturday to the home and garden show at the Prime Osborn and it wasn't running.  That was the last time I ever tried riding it but I digress.

I hate buses, but love rail!

[ProjectMaximus]

In the past week I've ridden the bus in Montreal and NYC. As a non-local I always prefer to ride fixed rail cause it's a bit easier to navigate, but it's also obvious in these large cities that the buses play a vital role in a comprehensive transit system.

[iMarvin]

Is there anywhere else to look at the proposed routes other than their interactive map? It's hard to actually see where each route goes.

[Charles Hunter]

If I remember correctly, JTA tried to move the bus stops farther apart once (at least) before.  But, the problem is, say the set them every other block - at A Street, then C Street, and E Street, and so on.  Pretty soon the folks living near B Street start calling JTA to complain.  JTA holds their ground.  Those living near D Street call the Councilman, who calls JTA ... a stop appears at D Street.  I hope as JTA moves the stops farther apart, they can withstand the pressure to undo it.

[Charles Hunter]

Is MJ going to look at the JTA plan and explain and critique it here?

[tufsu1]

JTA should look to Houston for an example of a completely overhauled system done right.

Houston is proposing a bus route revamp concept pretty similar to the one proposed by JTA