According to First Coast News, JTA is changing service on the Riverside Trolley line. What I would like to know is:
1. Do you think if it was free more people would ride?
2. Why can JTA operate SkyWay for free but the Trolleys?
3. Do you agree with these changes? Are they warranted?
Personally, IMO I think they are taking steps backward at a time when Riverside, Brooklyn and LaVilla seem right on the cusp of a boom.
Thoughts?
Here is link to story:
http://fcnews.tv/109B0Gm
The JTA said on average, 200 people a day pay $1.50 to catch the trolley from either Downtown or Riverside. Presently, trolley service is 13 hours a day with six trolleys on the road during the middle of the day.
They are doing the same thing with the PCT'S (PCT 'Potato Chip Truck-thinks-its-a-trolley') that they have built themselves into with the Skyway. No market penetration. Run these expensive toys with a southern loop like this: Riverside to St. Johns to Ingleside to Park to Roosevelt to St. Johns and return any you'd have the critical mass to make it work.
Anemic little routes that don't really reach out where the city lives, works and plays are useless. The worst thing is with 6 buses (and that is what they really are) you'll need 6 drivers making union pay scale and with a daily farebox of only $300 dollars income per day, your not paying the light bill.