JTA Interim CEO Cleveland Ferguson III speaks to news reporters Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, at the transit agency's headquarters in LaVilla. | Mike Mendenhall, Jacksonville Today
Published on September 17, 2026 at 5:11 pm
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Facing a $39 million budget hole, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority says it will lay off up to 194 employees, reduce bus route schedules and halt Skyway and autonomous shuttle services Downtown.
JTA interim CEO Cleveland Ferguson III, who was appointed to lead the agency Aug. 27 after the departure of 13-year CEO Nathaniel Ford, said JTA could lay off as may as 150 operational employees. That includes bus operators, maintenance utility workers and control personnel.
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Ferguson shared the decision Thursday in a roundtable with news reporters at the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center in LaVilla.
He says it’s still unclear if JTA will move forward will all 150 layoffs, but the decision will affect fixed-route bus services and necessitate suspension of the Downtown elevated Skyway train system and the struggling Neighborhood Autonomous Vehicle Innovation, or NAVI.
According to Ferguson, the decision to make additional job cuts came after his leadership team found that $24.9 million in cuts from contractual services and 44 administrative layoffs were not enough to make JTA solvent.
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“So we had to look at our frontline operations personnel to be able to make up that shortfall,” he said
According to Ferguson, the moves are necessary for JTA to trim expenses and reduce spending by $39 million from this year’s levels. The public transit agency’s board recently approved a $139 million budget for fiscal year 2027, down from $178 million for 2026.
“My focus is threefold. I’m making the tough decisions now. We’re making the necessary actions to reduce costs and strengthen our financial position,” Ferguson said.
“Number two, program our core mission. We’re prioritizing the essential services our community depends on while being most responsible stewards of taxpayers’ dollars. And third, stabilizing today to restore tomorrow. The faster we get back on strong financial footing, the sooner we can reinstate the service level our community needs and expects.”
JTA’s budget has to be approved by the Jacksonville City Council, which is scheduled for a final vote on Tuesday.
JTA bus routes affected
JTA will reduce the frequency of its bus routes Nov. 2, moving to a Saturday route schedule Mondays through Fridays. But Ferguson says the routes with the highest ridership will remain unchanged.
First Coast Flyer routes will continue to run every 20 minutes on weekdays, while Routes 1, 3, 8, 10 and 19 will operate every 30 minutes.
JTA says the remaining 12 routes will continue running unchanged every 60 minutes.
Ferguson told Jacksonville Today that the paratransit Connexion and the on-demand Connexion plus services, open to people certified as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act or Transportation Disadvantaged program, will remain unaffected.
NAVI and Skyway suspended
Nov. 2. is also when the Skyway will halt operations. Ferguson says this will save $10 million next year from operators, maintenance, parts and operations of escalators of the elevated train stations throughout the Downtown Northbank, while the future of the Skyway is determined.
In the meantime, JTA will continue with its community conversations on the future of the Skyway to determine how best to repurpose or remove the elevated train system.
City and JTA leaders have expressed concerns over the years that stopping Skyway operations, which has long struggled with ridership, and tearing down the infrastructure would result in the federal government recalling the roughly $90 million in grants used to build it.
Ferguson says JTA wrote to the Federal Department of Transportation in February to start talks about the Skyway’s remaining useful life, and he says the pause will not trigger any financial clawback.
NAVI will halt operations Jan. 1. That’s when the software license for the systems that run the autonomous vehicles is set to expire. Software designer Oxa announced earlier this year that it would no longer support the software used to run NAVI. Beep, which JTA contracts with to operate the software, currently doesn’t have a replacement.
That will save JTA about $487,000 per month, Ferguson said.
Unions talks and layoffs
Ferguson says the layoffs will happen over the course of one month, and the transit agency anticipates the first 18 layoffs will happen this week.
JTA has been working with the union to cut costs, Ferguson said. The affected employees will receive a severance package through bargaining negotiations required by state law.
There were already two previous rounds of layoffs in December 2025 and February 2026, as well as furloughs of 87 administrative employees.
Gas tax lifeline?
According to Ferguson, JTA’s financial strain could speed up talks with the city on renegotiating the transit agency’s agreement dictating how it spends money from the local option gas tax.
The Jacksonville City Council approved an increase and extension of the gas tax in 2021 that would, in part, provide $247 million to Phase II of JTA’s autonomous vehicle program, the Ultimate Urban Circulator. That was meant to be a replacement for the Skyway.
There was also $132 million for JTA to build out the Emerald Trail, a 32-mile multiuse pedestrian and bicycle path planned and designed by Groundwork Jacksonville.
Ferguson said renegotiating the gas tax agreement would not cancel JTA’s construction or funding of the Emerald Trail.
JTA wants to use some gas tax money to pay for the employee severance packages and repay a $40 million line of credit the agency took out this year to cover unpaid bills and its budget shortfall.
“The JTA has access to dollars that we’ve collected since 2021, and so we’re in conversations with the city of potentially using some of those dollars to pay down our line of credit, as well as our severance packages,” Ferguson said. “Those conversations are ongoing.”
Ferguson said, over the next year, JTA wants to talk with the city about expanding use of the gas tax revenue. Currently, JTA can use the money only on capital projects like the autonomous vehicles, the Emerald Trail and roads.
