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JTA presents Nassau County transit plan proposing Express Select expansion and microtransit zones
Summary
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority presented draft recommendations to the Fernandina Beach Planning Advisory Board for the Nassau County Transit Study, including adding an Express Select stop at the River City VA hospital, two microtransit zones covering Yulee and Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, and phased short-, medium- and long-term service changes.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority laid out phased recommendations to expand and modernize transit across Nassau County during the Planning Advisory Board's Sept. 11 meeting. Alexander Traversa, JTA's director of planning and sustainability, said the study updates a 2015 plan and aims to address ridership declines from the pandemic while improving connections for seniors, workers and tourists.
Traversa described a three-horizon approach: short-term adjustments using existing resources, medium-term extensions and new flex routes, and long-term investments to support growth over 5—10 years. He told the board the study collected about "402 survey responses" with roughly "125 survey responses from Fernandina Beach," and prioritized job access, medical services and senior mobility. "One of the key recommendations we have in the short term scenario is the expansion of Nassau Express Select," Traversa said, noting the express route already passes the new River City VA hospital but does not stop there.
The report recommends two roughly 10-square-mile zone-based microtransit areas (one covering Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, one covering Yulee) with overlapping transfer points so passengers can move between zones and fixed-route services. Traversa said microtransit can reduce paratransit costs and better serve short trips on the island, and that the JTA is working to make on-demand services app-based over the next few years.
Board members pressed JTA on funding and logistics. Traversa said many services are grant-funded with a local-match requirement and that JTA will coordinate with Nassau County on matching strategies; he also said rail remains a long-term, high-cost possibility and that freight/logistics questions are typically the province of the regional TPO or DOT. JTA will assume paratransit responsibilities in the county Oct. 1 and plans to bring the study's recommendations to the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners in mid-October for review and potential approval.
