Why Reinventing the Wheel So
How Jacksonville ' s Transportation Authority turned ,
Nathaniel Nat Ford , Sr .
JTA , Jacksonville Transportation Renaissance in Northeast Florida
Jacksonville , Florida February 2015
" It was evident that the JTA could enhance the service to our customers , Ford said . " So that quickly became our top priority ."
Ford knew this called for something revolutionary . His plan - take the brave and bold step to completely change more than 40 bus routes all at one time . It would be called the Route Optimization Initiative , or ROI . It was the first step to respond to stakeholders and develop a world class public transit system in the greater Jacksonville area .
In addition to new routes , the ROI plan called for extended service hours , new bus numbers , new bus shelter locations and even new bus operator uniforms .
" We found that long travel times , long waits between buses and infrequent hours of operation on evenings and weekends was , perhaps , the number one barrier preventing us from attracting new riders and providing the best possible service to our existing customers ," Ford said .
The moment he signed on as the Chief Executive Officer of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority ( JT A ), Nathaniel Ford knew major changes had to be made at the agency , not the least of which was transforming its antiquated bus system .
So after surveying everyone it could , from current riders to city leaders , and everyone in between , to hear their issues and find out what they wanted
It needed something it hadn ' t seen in three decades - a major reboot . Ford heard many customers complaining about long wait times , poor ontime performance , and hours of service that didn ' t meet their needs .