Jacksonville Transportation Authority opens new bus rapid transit line

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) opened the First Coast Flyer Orange Line, a 13-mile bus rapid transit (BRT) route that connects Downtown Jacksonville to Orange Park.

“After more than 10 years of planning, building, and opening new routes, the First Coast Flyer Orange Line is finally open, completing our BRT program in Jacksonville,” JTA Chief Executive Officer Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. “The Orange Line gives our customers direct access to shopping, college campuses, medical facilities, and our entire transportation network at the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla.”

The First Coast Flyer Orange Line completes the JTA’s 58-mile BRT system, the largest in the Southeast U.S. The Orange Line features 13 branded stops and stations in both directions that includes traffic signal priority at busy intersections and segments of bus only lanes, according to a press release.

The $33 million project is part of a $138 million BRT program that began in 2014 with the groundbreaking of the First Coast Flyer Green Line. The Federal Transit Administration provided $90 million in grant funding, along with the Florida Department of Transportation which provided $24 million in state match to JTA’s local investment.

The route heads southwest from the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla along Park Street through Brooklyn, Historic Five Points, Riverside, Avondale, and Florida State College at Jacksonville Kent Campus. From there, the Flyer heads down Blanding Boulevard with stops at Cedar Hills, 103rd Street, Mores Avenue, and the Orange Park Mall.