Jacksonville Transportation Authority

The Jacksonville City Council 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.[6] 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.[7]

J. Turner Butler Boulevard, the Fuller Warren Bridge, Mathews Bridge, Hart Bridge, and Trout River Bridge 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.

JTA was the major beneficiary of the $2.25 billion Better Jacksonville Plan (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.[8] 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.[9]

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.

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 Florida Department of Transportation. This was the original role of the Expressway Authority.

• Regular bus 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 bus 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: a bus rapid transit (BRT) system; all four planned routes are now in operation.[11]
• 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.[12]
• JTA Connexion: paratransit for the disabled and elderly, provided by private vendors with specially equipped vehicles and drivers.
• St. Johns River Ferry: vehicle and pedestrian ferry that operates between Mayport Village and Ft. George Island. [13]
• Stadium shuttle: game day bus transportation from suburban, downtown and Park-n-Ride locations to the stadium and back.
• Jacksonville Skyway: Automated people mover 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.[14]
• Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center (JRTC): JTA opened a new intermodal transit center in May, 2020, bringing together Jacksonville Skyway, JTA bus, First Coast Flyer, intercity bus, and rail service in one facility. JRTC replaced the aging and overcrowded Rosa Parks Transit Station. JRTC is situated across the street from the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center.[15][16]

• First Coast Commuter Rail: JTA is undertaking evaluations for a future commuter rail system.[17]
• Ultimate Urban Circulator (U2C): JTA is undertaking a project to modernize and replace the Jacksonville Skyway by converting and expanding the automated people mover into an autonomous vehicle (AV) network.[18][19]

The JTA has the responsibility to identify, plan and prepare Jacksonville's hurricane evacuation routes. 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.[20]

• 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)[22]
• 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

• 71 Riverside/Avondale Night Trolley (only runs the first full weekend of the month, on Friday and Saturday from 6pm until 2am)[23]

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

• 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)[24]
• 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)[25]
• 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)[26]
• 31 Talleyrand (Replaced by ReadiRide Talleyrand on December 2, 2019)[22]
• 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)[27]
• 83 Soutel / Pritchard (Replaced by ReadiRide Pritchard on December 2, 2019)[22]
• 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)[28]
• 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)