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In a move set to ease the financial burden for commuters, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) has announced a significant reduction in bus fares. Beginning February 1, the fare will decrease from $1.75 to $1. This initiative aims to make public transportation more accessible and affordable for the city’s residents.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The JTA is embarking on a six-month pilot program to evaluate how this fare reduction impacts ridership. The goal is to assess whether lower costs will encourage more people to choose the bus as their primary mode of transportation.
The JTA CEO is optimistic that the reduced fare will lead to a substantial increase in the number of passengers, benefiting both the authority and the community members who rely on public transport.
Among the daily commuters is Karon Chaney, who shared her thoughts while waiting at the JTA bus station in Lavilla. “I ride the bus every day,” she said, expressing hope that the lower fares will help stretch her budget further.
“I ride the bus everyday,” said Karon Chaney while sitting at the JTA bus station in Lavilla.
Chaney says she’s used to busting out the $1.75 it takes to get from one side of town to the other on the bus.
However, when the fare drops, she’ll be able to hang on to an extra three quarters every time she rides.
“Living in poverty for so long, I’ve learned to stretch every single dollar,” said Chaney. “That extra $.75 might be able to provide an extra meal for me.”
That was one of the goals according to JTA CEO Nat Ford.
The other – boosting ridership.
“Customers who may have left our system during the pandemic, let’s try to get them back on the system,” said Ford. “Use our existing capacity, help our community navigate through life’s challenges and not be part of those challenges.”
JTA projections show dropping the price for six months could boost ridership by 18%, which would be a net gain of $1.8 million for JTA.
Before the bus fare drops, the NAVI’s cost will drop even more – from the $1.75 it is now to free next week.
“Prematurely, we started charging fares in that corridor, but as you can see, there’s still a great deal of construction work and ridership development needed before we can start charging fares,” said Ford.
Ford said ridership noticeably dropped after JTA started charging for the NAVI, so JTA will make the fare free until more destinations, like the Four Seasons and MOSH, develop along Bay Street.
“Use that couple bucks, buy me a piece of chicken, make chicken and rice,” said Chaney. “I could stretch it into anything. We really need that small break every day.”
The bus fare will drop in February, but the NAVI will become free even sooner.
Come Monday (12/15), riders can keep the credit cards in the wallets and hop on the NAVI to ride the Bay Street corridor for free.
