*Originally published on Monday at 8:53 a.m. Re-published as a timely reminder about the town hall meeting being held at 6 p.m. tonight. 

GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – With the future of an agreement between Gainesville’s Regional Transit System (RTS) and its biggest customer the University of Florida (UF) still uncertain, one city commissioner is taking steps to answer questions from riders about the potential changes to the bus service.

District 3 City Commissioner Casey Willits will host a one-hour virtual town hall meeting on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Willits says the purpose of the virtual town hall is to answer questions about the bus service, the Vision Zero initiative, and Streets, Stations and Strong Foundations (SSSF) projects. Relevant city staff will also be available to answer questions from the community.

The event is FREE but advance registration is required. Use this link to register.

The city says Spanish speakers who have questions about the topics should submit questions in the online registration form. Each will receive a reply in Spanish following the event.

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RTS just celebrated 50 years of bus service in the Gainesville area but its future is unclear due to a dispute over how much the university pays for the service. The current contract between the city and UF ends June 30.

City leaders and representatives from UF met on Monday to discuss the future of their partnership and have agreed to continue holding weekly meetings until the matter is resolved. Monday’s meeting was the first time the parties have met face-to-face since the dispute began in March.

Background
The university proposed moving to a month-to-month agreement while it explored other transportation options and cutting the amount it contributes for the service which the city says would wipe out $6.9 million annually from the RTS budget.

The city held a special meeting on April 11 to analyze the impact of the revenue loss and said:

  • Eliminate 11 bus routes, including all routes serving the UF campus
  • Reduce 80,000 service hours
  • Cut 52 jobs – most of which are currently filled

At that meeting, dozens of bus riders voiced their concerns saying their lives and livelihood depend on the bus service.

Both the city and the university have said they believe the matter can be resolved and are meeting on Monday to resume negotiations.

Commissioner Willits says the town hall is also to address the Vision Zero policy and SSSF.

The commission adopted a Vision Zero policy in 2018 with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries to pedestrians, motorists and cyclists by 2040.  The plan outlines capital investments in order to achieve that goal.

SSSF refers to the city’s capital projects funded by the one-cent infrastructure surtax approved by Alachua County voters in November 2022. In a news release, Commissioner Willits says during the next 10 years, 50% of the surtax proceeds are dedicated to road repair, public-safety buildings and land for affordable housing.

The virtual town hall will be broadcast on Cox Cable Channel 12, livestreamed on the City’s website and Facebook page, and archived online. It also will be streamed on GNV TV through Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices.