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JAX Mass Transit
Provider of mass transportation in Jackson County, Illinois From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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JAX Mass Transit is a provider of mass transportation in Carbondale, Illinois with five routes serving the region. They also operate Saluki Express, which provides transportation to the students and staff of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. As of 2023, the system provided 110,175 rides over 23,615 annual vehicle revenue hours[1] with the JAX themselves claiming 26 buses of varying size as well as 3 paratransit vans.[2] The service provided by JAX in Carbondale is complemented by Rides Mass Transit District, South Central Illinois Mass Transit District, and Shawnee Mass Transit District.
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History
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Public transit in Jackson County began with horsecars in 1905, with the Murphysboro Street Railway Co. In 1908, the horsecars were replaced with streetcars, which in turn were replaced by buses in 1927.[3] In 1992, the Jackson County Board founded what would become the Jackson County Mass Transit District for the sake of providing public transportation across the county.[4] In 2002, JCMTD had finally began its first rides.[5] In 2019, the agency began planning on a new operations and maintenance facility in Carbondale.[6] As part of a Rebuild Illinois grant, the agency received funding for the new facility in 2023, along with funding to build an operations and administrative office in Murphysboro.[7] In 2024, JCMTD took over operations of the Saluki Express service in Carbondale previously operated by the Rides Mass Transit District.[8] This also saw the creation of 4 new fixed-routes based off the old Saluki Express Routes.[9] In October of the same year, the agency announced it would be changing its name from Jackson County Mass Transit District to JAX Mass Transit.[10] In November, they introduced a new app to assist passengers with fixed route schedules and bus tracking as well as the Big Muddy Route which provides Carbondale access to Murphysboro.[11]
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Service
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JAX operates five deviated fixed-route bus services, four of which are Saluki Express routes. Three of these routes operate within Carbondale, while two operate between Carbondale and Murphysboro. Riders can board a bus at multiple locations in Carbondale, five locations in Murphysboro, or schedule a ride from a different location.[12] JAX also provides a seasonal service called the Southern Illinois Access Route (SOAR) which operates from June to September. SOAR serves as a scenic route that takes riders to some of the more nature-oriented parts of Jackson County. Riders can be picked up at Evergreen Terrace, the SIU Recreation Center, or the Southern Illinois Multimodal Stations (SIMMS). SOAR features stops at the Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center, Giant City State Park, the Makanda Boardwalk, and Cedar Lake.[13]
Other services provided by JAX includes various microtransit services such as the Saluki Night Shuttle which provides after hours on-demand transportation from 7:00P.M. to 12:00A.M. everyday. JAX also provides paratransit services for Carbondale everyday 7:00A.M to 7:30P.M. and Murphysboro weekdays 7:00A.M. to 5:00P.M. for any eligible riders. The paratransit service mirrors the regular fixed routes provided by JAX. JAX also has rural routes to help provide inter-city access to people outside of Carbondale and Murphysboro. Stops for rural routes can be found in Ava, Campbell Hill, Dowell, De Soto, Elkville, Grand Tower, Gorham, Makanda, and Vergennes.[14]
Hours of regular operation for the system are Monday through Friday from 7:00 A.M. to 7:30P.M. and Weekends from 7:00 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. depending on the route. Regular fares are $2.00.[15][16]
Fixed Routes
DISCLAIMER: All routes are subject to temporary or permanent modification at the discretion of JAX and may be inaccurately represented on their maps or the following Wikipedia route tables.
Rural Routes
Seasonal Routes
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Fixed route ridership
The ridership statistics shown here are of the deviated fixed route services operated by JAX from 2013 to 2023.[17]
25,000
50,000
75,000
100,000
125,000
150,000
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
See also
References
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