metimes Makes Perfect Sense struggling bus system into a template for success
more , JTA ' s planning began in earnest almost immediately .
" Our outreach and marketing efforts proved vital ," Ford said . " Our External Affairs department held well over 100 public outreach events and meetings and heavily promoted the upcoming changes in every medium . It was a herculean task in itself and ROI would not have been successful without our ability to reach the volume of people we did ."
The successful culmination of 18 months of preparation and work came clearly into focus on December 1 , 2014 - launch day . In lesser hands , a system launch of this magnitude could have been a disaster . But thanks to Ford ' s vision and the leadership of the executive team was in fact , revolutionary .
Nat Ford took a system with less-than-ideal performance and unveiled a new system that provided more direct routes , extended hours and 15- 30 minute frequency on most routes .
" ROI has gotten national attention . We expect to get many guests who will come to Jacksonville to
Nathaniel Nat Ford , Sr .
JTA , Jacksonville Transportation Renaissance in Northeast Florida
Jacksonville , Florida February 2015
Real success happens when customers like what you ' ve done and want to use it . After the first 30 days with the new system , overall weekday ridership increased by 6.6 percent , Saturday rides were up by 8.3 percent and Sundays saw a rise of 17 . 3 percent .
So successful was the JT A transformation that the new system is being evaluated by other public transportation providers . In early February , Ford presented ROI at a forum of transit executives .
But ROI is not finished . JT A continues to evaluate the system for possible enhancements . Fine tuning will be an on-going process as to keep reaching for the goal of having a world-class transit system in Jacksonville .