Meeting the
New Mobility Paradigm
Technology is changing the way people move and JTA is
keeping up with the pace as its CEO leads the industry in fi nding
a way that rewards creative, effi cient ways to move people.
S CHAIR OF THE AMERICAN
Public Transportation Association,
one of Jacksonville
Transportation Authority
CEO Nathaniel P. Ford Sr.’s
fi ve priorities is how the industry
needs to adapt to the
new mobility paradigm. He
has a holistic vision that will position
the industry where the surface
transportation community will
move people in the most effi cient
way, including shared mobility.
JTA is an example of that as it
is preparing for the future. “We
didn’t end up here overnight,”
Ford stressed. “Everything we’re
doing … was years of work that
laid the foundation that we could
take on these bold challenges.”
To meet these challenges, there
were changes to the hiring process
and how they use leadership characteristics
to bring on the right
team. “It really boils back down
to the talent and the people we
have here at the JTA,” Ford said.
10 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com
Multimodal Development
Serving as the mobility hub, the
state-of-the-art Jacksonville Regional
Transportation Center
will feature a bus terminal for
JTA’s bus rapid transit First Coast
Flyer, fi xed-route service, an Intercity
Bus Terminal for Greyhound
and Megabus, JTA’s Skyway, future
commuter rail, taxi service,
transportation network companies,
bicycle and pedestrian amenities,
and the JTA Administrative
Building.
Th e fi rst phase of the project is
the Intercity Bus Terminal.
JTA owns
the facility and
A
will lease it to Greyhound, Megabus
and any other intercity bus operator.
Construction started February
2017 and will be completed in
February 2018. Phase 2, scheduled
for completion in 2020, will be the
JTA Administration Building and
JTA Bus Transfer Facility.
Th e $58 million project is 100
percent funded through the JTA,
the Federal Transit Administration
and the Florida Department
of Transportation.
LaVilla, the community where
the JRTC is being built, is an area
that has been depressed and between
the city and JTA, there are
numerous parcels that they own
and are working with the city
and the Downtown Investment
Authority to develop a transit-oriented
development redevelopment
plan. “Th at study is underway
right now,” Ford said.
He mentioned a part of the revitalization
of LaVilla as a downtown
neighborhood was the Loft s
at LaVilla, an aff ordable housing
complex that had a waiting list
of prospective tenants while still
under construction. Th e $22 million
project is a 130-unit aff ordable
housing apartment building.
Th e JRTC project will include
improvements to the Skyway Convention
Center Station, roadway,
sidewalk and landscaping.
The Future of Mobility
JTA’s Skyway was developed almost
30 years ago as an experimental
project — autonomous,
Images by JTA
A RENDERING of
the proposed
Brooklyn
Station where
autonomous
vehicles will pick
up passengers.
Priorities as
APTA Chair
• Leadership and
Advocacy
• Mobility
Paradigm
• Workforce of
the Future
• Leveraging
Data-Driven
Business Models
• Enterprise Risk
JACKSONVILLE Management
TRANSPORTATION
Authority CEO
Nathaniel P.
Ford Sr.
By Leah Harnack
/MassTransitmag.com