The Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla (JRTC) is an

intermodal transit Intermodal passenger transport, also called mixed-mode commuting, involves using two or more modes of transportation in a journey. Mixed-mode commuting is often used to combine the strengths (and offset the weaknesses) of various transportati ...

station in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. It serves the

Jacksonville Transportation Authority The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the independent agency responsible for public transit in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. However, they do not maintain any roadways ...

(JTA) bus system, the

First Coast Flyer The First Coast Flyer is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jacksonville, Florida, owned and operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). It currently consists of four radial routes running north, southwest, southeast, and east ...

bus rapid transit (BRT) system, and the

Jacksonville Skyway The Jacksonville Skyway is an automated people mover in Jacksonville, Florida. It opened in 1989 and is operated by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA). The skyway has three stations in Downtown Jacksonville and was extended in 1 ...

monorail, as well as home to JTA's administrative offices. It is across the street form the

Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center is a convention center located in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Opened in 1986, it was built incorporating Jacksonville Terminal Complex / Union Station as well as several thousand square feet of newly b ...

and connected to by a pedestrian bridge to the Intercity Bus Terminal which is served by

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. is an American operator of Intercity bus service, intercity bus services. Greyhound operates the largest intercity bus network in the United States, and also operates charter and Amtrak Thruway services, as well as interci ...

, Megabus, and RedCoach.

History

LaVilla station was one of the three original

stops that opened with the initial Phase I-A segment in June 1989. It was originally called "Terminal Station" in reference to the Jacksonville Terminal, a former train station that was converted into the

in 1986 and renamed "Convention Center" in reference to the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center. Built to provide public transit access to the Convention Center, it is the western terminus of line, which ran east to Jefferson station and

Central station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

. All three stations were closed for one year between December 1996 and December 1997, when the Skyway transitioned from

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...

Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...

technology. The station has an adjacent

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

lot. The City of Jacksonville had long planned to incorporate the site into an

station, with the return of rail service to the Jacksonville Terminal. In May 2017, JTA announced that the station would be closed about two months later for the construction of the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center (JRTC). The station reopened as part of the new Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center on May 4, 2020.

Future and proposed projects

First Coast Commuter Rail The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the independent agency responsible for public transit in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. However, they do not maintain any roadways. ...

is a proposed passenger rail system serving Jacksonville and the Northeast Florida region. It is currently in the early planning stages. Three routes were analyzed in depth: north to

Yulee, Florida Yulee is a census-designated place (CDP) located within Nassau County, Florida, in the United States. Its population at the 2020 United States Census was 14,195, up from 11,491 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jacksonville metropolitan stat ...

, southwest to

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. Green Cove Springs is a part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,786 at the 2020 census, up from 6,908 at ...

, and southeast to

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

Brightline Brightline (reporting mark BLFX) is an intercity rail route in the United States that runs between Miami and Orlando, Florida. Part of the route runs on track owned and shared by the Florida East Coast Railway. Brightline is the only privat ...

is an inter-city passenger rail system between

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

with an under-construction extension to

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

. Jacksonville is a likely expansion point for the near future, as the FEC Railway already owns the tracks running there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacksonville_Regional_Transportation_Center_at_LaVilla Jacksonville Skyway stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1989 Transportation in Jacksonville, Florida Bus stations in Florida 1989 establishments in Florida