JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Transportation Authority wrapped up its final community meeting Thursday, concluding eight sessions held over the past 10 days to gather public input on proposed transportation changes across Jacksonville.
The meetings, which drew about 150 residents, largely focused on concerns about the future of JTA’s paratransit services, particularly the Connexion Plus program that serves people certified under the Americans with Disabilities Act or Transportation Disadvantaged program.
Recommended Videos
The Plus plan runs as a private ride while the standard Connexion service is a shared ride.
JTA initially proposed combining its premium Connexion Plus service with the standard Connexion program, but after hearing strong community feedback, officials modified their approach.
“The purpose of our community meetings is to get that feedback together that feedback and to make informed decisions based on that feedback and we did just that,” Taniel Koushakjian, JTA Director of Communications, said.
Instead of combining the services, JTA will maintain the separate Connexion Plus program but implement a new fare structure starting February 1. Under the revised plan, riders will pay $10 for the first 8 miles (up from $6 for the first 15 miles) and $3.50 per mile thereafter (up from $2 per mile).
The rate increase has sparked concern among users who depend on the door-to-door private ride service. Bethene Middleton, whose son Josiah uses both Connexion and Connexion Plus to get to work and other events, voiced her concerns at Thursday’s meeting.
“The new fee structure is extraordinarily painful,” Middleton said.
She said currently it costs $6 to get her son home from Special Olympics practice. She said under the new model it would cost “a minimum of $20.50″ depending on what route is taken.
Middleton said she calculated that after transportation costs and SSI deductions, her son’s hourly earnings would effectively be reduced to $1.30.
Despite the financial impact, she emphasized the service’s importance to his independence: “For him, he would work for free. He doesn’t care. It gives him vitality and meaning of life.”
JTA officials explained that the rate changes are necessary due to rising operational costs. The service cost $2.8 million in fiscal 2022, jumped to $6.3 million last year – a 124 percent increase – and is projected to exceed $8 million in 2026.
“We get zero federal funds, zero city funds for Connexion [Plus],” Koushakjian said. “If they would like to help us out with that, that would be wonderful. But we don’t get any federal funding for that, and that was the purpose of our community meetings—to get that feedback together and to make informed decisions based on that feedback.”
The revised plan includes a new limit of 40 trips per month for Connexion Plus customers during the six-month pilot program. JTA reports that 96 percent of current customers fall under this threshold, with the average user taking 13 trips monthly.
While the premium Connexion Plus service will see rate increases, JTA noted that standard Connexion and other ride fares will decrease during the pilot program. The agency will reevaluate all changes after the six-month pilot period ends.
For more information about the fare modifications, visit JTA’s website at jtafla.com.