Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla
| Company type | Public transit facility |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Jacksonville, Florida , United States |
Area served | Jacksonville metropolitan area |
| Products | Bus transit, Bus rapid transit, Monorail transit, Intercity bus services |
The Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla (JRTC) functions as a major intermodal transit facility situated in Jacksonville, Florida. It brings together the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) bus system, the First Coast Flyer bus rapid transit (BRT), and the Jacksonville Skyway monorail, while also accommodating the administrative offices of JTA.
Positioned opposite the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, the center is linked by a pedestrian bridge to the Intercity Bus Terminal, which is served by providers such as Greyhound Lines, Megabus, and RedCoach.
History
LaVilla station was among the initial trio of stops when the Jacksonville Skyway debuted its Phase I-A segment in June 1989. Originally called "Terminal Station" in reference to the former Jacksonville Terminal—which had been transformed into the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center in 1986—the name was subsequently changed to "Convention Center." This station marked the western endpoint of the Skyway line that extended eastward to Jefferson station and Central station. Between December 1996 and December 1997, all three stations were closed to facilitate the transition from Matra to Bombardier Transportation technology.
A nearby park and ride facility supports daily commuters. The City of Jacksonville envisioned redeveloping this location into a full-scale intermodal transit hub with reinstated rail services. In May 2017, JTA announced a temporary two-month shutdown to enable construction work on the expanded Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center.
The renovated facility reopened on May 4, 2020, improving multimodal integration and bolstering regional transit development.
Future and proposed projects
The First Coast Commuter Rail represents a planned passenger rail network for Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, currently in preliminary stages. The project considers three primary corridors connecting northward to Yulee, Florida, southwest toward Green Cove Springs, Florida, and southeast to St. Augustine, Florida.
Brightline operates an inter-city passenger rail service between Miami and West Palm Beach, with an extension underway to reach Orlando. Jacksonville is identified as a prospective future expansion destination, utilizing the existing track ownership of the FEC Railway.