St. Johns County 10-year bus plan meeting set for Nov. 17

St. Johns County is writing a new 10-year plan for its public bus service, and it wants to hear what riders and residents need. The first public meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 17, in St. Augustine.

For Ponte Vedra Beach, the starting point is simple: no county bus serves it today.

The county and the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization, known as the North Florida TPO, announced the meeting on Thursday. The county’s release says the plan will “identify the community’s public transportation needs and evaluate potential transit enhancements over the next 10 years.”

The meeting

• When: 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, with a short presentation at 5 p.m.
• Where: St. Johns County Council on Aging Coastal Community Center, 180 Marine St., St. Augustine, about 25 miles south of Ponte Vedra Beach
• Format: an open house, so you can arrive, look at the material and leave comments

The North Florida TPO lists the meeting on its meetings page.

What the plan could change

The county says the plan may look at:

• expanded service options
• better connections to key destinations
• better accessibility and mobility
• upgraded passenger amenities
• investments in transit facilities and infrastructure

Neither the release nor the TPO’s page names any route, area or budget yet.

Where the buses run now

The county’s bus service is the Sunshine Bus. The county pays for it with federal, state and local money and contracts the St. Johns County Council on Aging to run it, its public transit page says. The fixed routes operate within the St. Augustine urbanized area. A separate door-to-door service runs by reservation for people who qualify as transportation disadvantaged or for Medicaid rides.

The Sunshine Bus publishes its routes and stops as an open schedule data file. It lists 65 stops on nine routes. The northernmost is the Publix in Palencia, about 16 miles south of Ponte Vedra Beach. There is no stop in Ponte Vedra Beach, Palm Valley or Nocatee.

The county’s latest performance report gives these figures for the fixed routes:

Buses run 5 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, the report says. Riders can ask for a bus to leave its route by up to a quarter mile with 24 hours’ notice, for a flat $4, the Sunshine Bus schedules page says.

The county’s current transit development plan dates from 2023, its public transit page says.

What it means for you

• If you want bus service in Ponte Vedra Beach, this is the stage at which the county asks what people need, so say so at the open house or in writing.
• If you cannot get to St. Augustine on Nov. 17, the North Florida TPO takes questions at 904-306-7500 or info@northfloridatpo.com, its contact page says.
• If you or a relative rely on rides to appointments, ask at the meeting about the door-to-door service. Sunshine Bus customer service is 904-209-3716.

Our getting around page covers driving, parking, bike routes and the summer beach shuttle to Mickler’s Landing.