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Council members press JTA after riders warn Connection Plus changes could leave disabled residents stranded
Summary
At an internal Jan. 9 meeting, a longtime paratransit user urged council members to preserve JTAConnection Plus service; council members said they will meet with JTA, the mayorand the auditor to explore options after officials flagged a large year-end budget swing.
Allison Miller, a longtime user of Jacksonville Transportation Authorityservices, told city council members at a Jan. 9 meeting that JTAis changing its Connection Plus paratransit service effective Feb. 1 and that the service is "invaluable" to disabled residents who rely on it for work, medical appointments and daily life. "I downloaded their app and I tried to make a reservation and you can't do it," Miller said, urging council members to "come up with a creative solution" to preserve the service.
Council members responded by promising follow-up. Council President Matt Carlucci said a meeting is being scheduled with JTA, the mayors office and the council auditor to explore options, and asked Council aide Corey to coordinate. "I'd love to have you there because you've got such a wealth of knowledge on it already," Carlucci said of Councilman Will Lane, who chairs the TEU committee.
Lane told colleagues the JTA budget showed a sharp swing during the fiscal year: after a modest shortfall in the first nine months, "it completely flipped the last quarter, and it was $19,000,000 under budget for the year," he said, citing material drivers provided by JTA. Lane said that, given that variance and cited operational costs, the council should avoid cutting services that have an outsized impact on daily life. He noted reported per-ride cost figures supplied by JTA staff in recent briefings, saying Connection Plus rides had been reported at roughly $55 per trip and other Navi-related rides at higher per-ride amounts.
Council members agreed to pursue a public-notice (Sunshine) meeting with JTA so members, administration staff and the auditor can review the numbers and weigh alternatives. Carlucci asked staff to keep Miller and other affected residents informed.
Next steps: council staff said they would notify the public when the follow-up meeting with JTA is set; no formal binding action was taken at the Jan. 9 session.
