The JTA’s MobilityWorks 2.0 is a program designed to complete projects funded by the extension and expansion of the Local Option Gas Tax and is part of the Jobs for Jax Program.

Jobs for Jax is a transportation improvement program developed in partnership by the City of Jacksonville and JTA that includes 72 projects focused on roadway and drainage needs.

Please see this website for the City of Jacksonville’s Jobs for Jax projects.

The Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT), also known as the Local Option Fuel Tax, is authorized through Sections 206.87(1)(b), 206.87(1)(c), 336.021, and 336.025, Florida Statutes. This allows county governments to levy up to 12 cents of local option gas tax per gallon. Thirty-one Florida counties, including Nassau and Clay, exercise the option to charge the full amount ($0.12). Jobs for Jax fully leverages the 12-cent LOGT. The Florida Department of Revenue administers, collects, and enforces local option gas taxes.

Leveraging the gas tax allows Jacksonville to address critical transportation and infrastructure needs. A gas tax shares the burden among all roadway users. The LOGT impacts anyone purchasing motor fuel in Duval County, including residents, tourists, and anyone passing through the county on their way to other destinations.

Unlike a property tax increase, the gas tax revenue is earmarked to be used only for transportation infrastructure investments. This means that future City Administrations and City Council leaders cannot redirect the funds to projects outside of infrastructure. Additionally, visitors and commuters outside Duval County, who stop for gas along area roadways, will contribute to this revenue source.

Significant and continuous investments are necessary to meet the current and long-term infrastructure needs to support Jacksonville’s status as innovative and growing city.

Funds collected through the LOGT can only be used for “transportation expenditures” pursuant to Section 336.025(1), Florida Statutes.

According to those rules, “transportation expenditures” are defined as the following:

• • Public transportation operations and maintenance.
• • Roadway and right-of-way maintenance and equipment and structures used primarily for the storage and maintenance of such equipment.
• • Roadway and right-of-way drainage.
• • Street lighting installation, operation, maintenance, and repair.
• • Traffic signs, traffic engineering, signalization, and pavement markings, installation, operation, maintenance, and repair.
• • Bridge maintenance and operation.
• • Debt service and current expenditures for transportation capital projects in the foregoing program areas, including construction or reconstruction of roads and sidewalks.

Since the program’s inception in 2022, the Jacksonville Transit Authority (JTA) has completed a number of activities to build the foundation for the 30-year program. These activities include:

• • Procured Program Management Consultants
  • Developed Program Management Plan
  • Developed Comprehensive Master Scheduling
  • Developed Cash Flow Analysis and Federal Grant Funding Strategy
  • Developed Project Prioritization Plan
  • Developed Funding Phasing Plan
  • Developed Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Availability and Capacity Study
  • Facilitated Emerald Trail Partnering Meetings with Groundwork Jacksonville and the City of Jacksonville
  • Developed the Workforce Development and Training Academy Framework
  • Prepared and Submitted IIJA Grant Applications for MobilityWorks 2.0 Projects

• As of January 2024, 10 persons have been hired to work on the Program. The JTA hired Director of Capital Programs and Program Manager – Quality Assurance to support the program.

  The Program Management Consultants, Jacobs Engineering, has hired 8 people to date to support the Program.

The Economic Impact Study of Local Option Gas Tax Projects for the MobilityWorks 2.0 legislation, commissioned by the JTA and conducted by Dr. Loh from the Coggin College of Business at the University of North Florida in 2021, provides crucial data for understanding the program's economic benefits. This study serves as the foundation for the estimated 2,992 total jobs (direct, indirect, and induced) expected to be generated by projects under MobilityWorks 2.0.

Direct jobs: employment created to fulfill the demand for a product or service.

Indirect jobs: jobs that exist to produce the goods and services needed by the workers with direct jobs.

Induced jobs: jobs that are a result of direct/indirect employee’s spending money in the community.

Total jobs include direct as well as indirect and induced jobs.

Steps in a project lifecycle include Planning, Project Development & Environmental (PD&E), Design, and Construction.

View the Anatomy of a JTA Project video to learn how a JTA capital project goes from idea to completion.

The JTA is applying a program management structure to delivery of the MobilityWorks 2.0 projects. Because we are beginning the project from inception, this allows us to be innovative and creative throughout the project delivery process, allowing us to apply value engineering principles and innovation, as needed, to remain within schedule and budget. Too, we will follow project controls methods to track our projects throughout the life cycle. And as with our JTAMobilityWorks projects, we will continue to engage the community and stakeholders throughout the project delivery process.

The JTA’s complete streets projects were the result of planning and conceptual design efforts to provide traffic safety, aesthetic enhancements, and bicyclist/pedestrian infrastructure on high priority transit corridors. These improvements will include installation of protected bike lanes, signage & marking for bike lanes, new crosswalks, sidewalks, roadway restriping, landscaped medians, and/or transit enhancements such as new concrete pads and bus stop amenities.

Following the recommendations from our MOVE2027 Plan, the JTA wanted to focus on improving services for our core customers – essential workers – by improving amenities in the city’s underserved areas. This project will improve 111 bus stops within Northwest Jacksonville including along Soutel Drive, which will be improved as part of the City's efforts. The JTA proposes to upgrade all bus stops in this area for ADA compliance. We also propose to focus improvements near transit dependent properties such as assisted living facilities, including new shelters, poles, leaning benches, and lighting.

The JTA’s projects costs were developed from preliminary designs, conceptual designs, and fully developed studies. Program Management engineering consultants were used to pressure test our costs development. Our projects include ROW acquisition costs where applicable, contingency and program management costs. We will track and monitor our costs through each phase of the project, from design through construction.