JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Bus riders in Jacksonville started the week with fewer choices, as the Jacksonville Transportation Authority put a round of service cuts into effect to deal with a $39 million budget shortfall.
Four routes are gone: 18, 25, 32 and 82. Riders who used Route 18 to reach Regency Square Mall, the Monument Post Office or the Walmart store on Monument Road lost that link. Seven more routes now follow new paths, among them 10, 23, 24, 28, 31 and the Orange Line, which is Route 105.
There is one addition. Route 34 is new, carved out of the old Route 23.
Timetables shifted on more than 20 routes, with changes to weekday, Saturday or Sunday trips depending on the line. Corridors affected include Kings Road, Atlantic Boulevard and Riverside, plus the Mayport Express. On some of the routes that remain, riders could wait as much as 30 minutes longer for a bus.
The authority also cut staff as part of the effort. Its board adopted a $139 million budget for the current fiscal year, compared with $178 million a year earlier.
The Skyway is caught up in the changes as well. It had been scheduled to pause service Monday but closed early on Friday because of staffing shortages, and the La Villa platform entrance was fenced off.
The money problems are also on the agenda at City Hall. The Jacksonville City Council scheduled a meeting on Monday focused on the transportation authority, its finances and the path ahead for the agency.
Updated schedules for each route are posted by the agency, and riders who rely on a discontinued line will need to check which route now covers their stop.
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