Changing the Urban Landscape in 2013

[JeffreyS]

Welcome to the Fray Todd. We advocate for rail and the prosperity it brings. Search the site and you will find a seemingly endless supply of articles for the advancement of fixed transit here in Jax.

[thelakelander]

BRT? Really? If you look at the list of cities that use bus transportation systems, you get cities like Louisville and Birmingham. The future of transit is rail. Just look what Charlotte has done with their new light rail. Why not instead of spending all this money on bus rapid transit, lets invest in cleaner, safer, more efficient light rail like the Skyway, which has much more potential.

^You'll find no argument here about the benefit of rail.  Most here, understand that what JTA is calling BRT is simply reliable regular bus service in major cities (although good bus service is needed too). 

I'm also a proponent of modifying a few existing bus lines to BRT style service without spending the big bucks or asking for additional federal help.  Go to the federal well for more impactful rail projects such as streetcar or commuter rail to feed riders into the skyway since it doesn't have the capacity to become a citywide circulator.  However, they've already received funding for the downtown BRT lines. It's unrealistic to think that we'll be returning the cash.