A JTA Connexion Plus van. | Jacksonville Transportation Authority
Published on February 27, 2026 at 1:43 pm
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The Jacksonville Transportation Authority board has approved a revised fare structure for Connexion Plus, as well as adjustments to other expenses to stabilize the budget.
The Connexion Plus rate adjustment comes after the community protested earlier plans to reduce the private-ride service, followed JTA’s commitment to continue the service.
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Beginning April 2, the new fare structure is set at $10 for the first 12 miles and $2.50 per mile thereafter, with no limit to the number of monthly trips. Seventy-five percent of Connexion Plus customers travel 12 miles or less per trip, JTA said.
The fare structure is necessary to cover increased costs, JTA says. It will stay in place for a six-month pilot period, then get reviewed by a JTA task force.
“The JTA is committed to ensuring financial stability across the agency, while maintaining the services we provide for this community,” JTA CEO Nat Ford said in a news release. “The adjustments made today, while difficult, are necessary to ensure we end this year with a balanced budget while preserving the transportation services that citizens of Northeast Florida rely on each and every day.”
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How Connexion Plus works
Connexion Plus is available to people certified as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act or Transportation Disadvantaged program. It operates from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. Customers needing its private ride service can call the JTA at (904) 404-0848 at least two hours before desired pickup time.
The JTA initially proposed ending the single-rider Connexion Plus service earlier this year and continuing only a multipassenger Connexion service. But in January, the board decided to keep the single-rider program after protests at town meetings.
That resulted in a fare starting Feb. 1 based on miles traveled, plus a new limit of 40 trips per month. After multiple meetings with community partners, advocates, city officials and nonprofit executives, a new rate proposal was reached on Connexion Plus service.
The JTA board also approved $14.2 million in expense reductions this week due to sales tax revenues coming in almost $11 million lower than projections, officials said. That revenue makes up more than half of the authority’s operational revenue budget.
There has been a budget surplus on sales tax projections in 11 of the last 13 years, but this year’s revenue is trending lower than anticipated, JTA officials said.
Expense reductions will include a 15% salary cut for senior leaders and a reduction of administrative positions. Other expense reductions include eliminating some professional service contracts, renegotiating other contracts and bringing some technology services in-house.
