{"id":405615,"date":"2026-09-20T19:22:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T19:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/405615\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T19:22:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T19:22:18","slug":"jta-cuts-create-uncertainty-for-bus-riders-transportation-turmoil-draws-attention-of-city-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/405615\/","title":{"rendered":"JTA cuts create uncertainty for bus riders; Transportation turmoil draws attention of City Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

“They need to think thoroughly about the people trying to make a living, and the only transportation they have right now is the bus,” rider Santony Johnson said.<\/p>\n

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 The Jacksonville Transportation Authority plans to cut up to 194 jobs, suspend the Skyway and NAVI services and reduce weekday bus service<\/a> as it works to close a $39 million budget gap. It’s something that’s drawing concerns from bus riders and some Jacksonville City Council members.<\/p>\n

For Santony Johnson, who has been riding JTA buses for about three months since his car broke down, the announced cuts add to worries about a service he already sees as unpredictable.<\/p>\n


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Johnson said he was waiting for a bus to pick up medication when he learned it would be delayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said it would be here at 6:19, but they said it\u2019s going to be about 10 minutes late,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019ll probably be, you know, probably 6:29 or whatever. Other than that, I hope Publix still got my medication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson said he relies on the bus while trying to find a job, pick up medication and work toward replacing his car. But he said he cannot depend on the system to get him to work on time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rely on it for little reasons, but I can\u2019t rely on it for no job or something like that because I wanna really back up my word if I tell somebody that I\u2019m gonna be there on time,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

JTA said weekday fixed-route bus service will shift to a Saturday schedule beginning Nov. 2. First Coast Flyer routes will continue operating every 20 minutes on weekdays, while Routes 1, 3, 8, 10 and 19 will run every 30 minutes. The remaining 12 fixed routes will continue operating every 60 minutes.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Jacksonville Transportation Authority to suspend Skyway, NAVI, and lay off employees to cut costs<\/a><\/p>\n

The Skyway will suspend operations Nov. 2, a move JTA expects to save about $10 million annually. NAVI shuttle service is set to pause Jan. 1, 2027. JTA estimates that change will save about $487,000 a month.<\/p>\n

The agency also plans to cut $24.9 million in contractor services and eliminate 44 administrative positions. Up to 150 operations employees, like drivers, could also be affected. JTA said the first 18 layoffs are expected this week.<\/p>\n

District 1 Councilman Ken Amaro said the cuts could be particularly difficult for riders who have no other reliable way to travel.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly the JTA is in a position where it has to do some belt tightening,\u201d Amaro said. \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that the citizens, the riders, are going to be impacted because when you reduce routes, that makes it difficult for people to get to where they need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beaches Councilman Rory Diamond placed blame on JTA leadership, calling on the authority to refocus its spending and core transportation services.<\/p>\n

\u201cJTA has failed you,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cThe leadership of JTA, the current administration, absolutely failed Jacksonville. I mean, we knew that we saw this coming. We knew it was a boondog. We’re wasting money on stuff now. We gotta shrink, get more efficient, get back to basics, and help people get to work and to school.\u201d<\/p>\n

District 7 Councilman Jimmy Peluso also said JTA should focus on dependable transit service.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get a great bus system,\u201d Peluso said. \u201cLet\u2019s get routes that work, that are efficient, that are fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson said JTA should consider the people who depend on buses for work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey really need to think thoroughly about the people that\u2019s really trying to make a living, and the only transportation they got right now is the bus,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

JTA says it will spend the next month working to preserve as much service as possible while carrying out the budget reductions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“They need to think thoroughly about the people trying to make a living, and the only transportation they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-405615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}