JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. \u2014 The Jacksonville Transportation Authority approved service changes and a 25-cent fare increase at a meeting in Jacksonville Beach on Thursday<\/p>\n
An official at JTA said the agency conducted a federal Title VI study to determine that fare changes would not have a disproportionate negative impact on minority and other riders.<\/p>\n
\u201cActions today will give us a chance to increase our fare by 25 cents and so that would put us in a place to be able to sustain some of the services that are very important for our customers\u201d said Jeffrey Smith, Senior VP and COO of JTA.<\/p>\n
The vote puts JTA bus fares at $2 per ride, up from the previous fare of $1.75.<\/p>\n
On top of the fare increase, bus routes 18, 25, 32, 82 – which serve areas like Lennox Ave., Commonwealth Ave. and San Marco – will be eliminated. JTA is also cutting curb-to-curb, on-demand shuttles in ReadiRide zones.<\/p>\n
The St. John\u2019s River ferry service hours will be reduced by 90 minutes on weekdays. It currently operates on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.<\/p>\n
The skyway hours will be reduced weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m..<\/p>\n
\u201cThe annual savings expected will be at $12,164,000,\u201d Smith said. <\/p>\n
Smith assured Action News Jax that putting service on the chopping block was a last resort for the agency and are affecting all parts of the organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not just about service. The cuts and service was the last thing we did. I want to make that perfectly clear – first we did cut in our administrative staff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The route changes take effect in October. The fare increase goes into effect on January 1, 2027. <\/p>\n
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