IL: JAX Mass Transit seeks public feedback with town hall, online survey

Feb. 7, 2025
JAX Mass Transit, formerly known as the Jackson County Mass Transit District, is calling on riders in Jackson County to provide feedback for a yearlong comprehensive study aiming to improve transportation in the county.

JAX Mass Transit, formerly known as the Jackson County Mass Transit District, is calling on riders in Jackson County to provide feedback for a yearlong comprehensive study aiming to improve transportation in the county.

An online public survey can be found at ridejax.com/jax-on-the-move. The survey is also available in hard copy form at the administrative office at 975 Charles Road in Carbondale.

Additionally, JAX will be hosting a series of in-person forums, highlighted by a community town hall event from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Carbondale Public Library.

There will also be several pop-up events throughout this week. They include 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the SIU Student Center; 5-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Neighborhood Co-op Grocery in Carbondale; and 9-11 a.m. Friday at the Murphysboro Food Pantry.

“The town hall meeting and pop-up meetings, they’re about connecting with the community, getting a kind of ‘boots on the ground’ approach, where we’re talking to people who use transit the most,” JAX CEO Shawn Freeman said.

These events are part of a larger outreach initiative that will span throughout the year into this coming fall to be included in a comprehensive transportation study.

Freeman said one of the goals of the study is to help secure additional funding for the unit.

This follows a tumultuous 2024 where JAX and Rides Mass Transit District collectively lost between $1-2 million in federal funding due to the Carbondale- Carterville- Marion area no longer being considered an urbanized zone by new standards.

“It’ll help us try to find areas where we can secure some funding,” Freeman said. “That funding is sorely needed.”

One of the changes forced by that loss was a downsizing of routes and stops provided by JAX. Some areas, such as the east side of Carbondale, have less access than before due to those cuts.

“That was one of the routes that was cut with the funding loss, the Crosstown route, which really connected east and west Carbondale,” Freeman said.

Freeman said he hopes to hear from riders if they have concerns about transportation gaps and areas that can be improved, as well as feedback on what has worked for them.

“For better or worse, what’s wrong with the system? How can we fix it? Where can we take the system in the future to make sure we’re servicing the needs?” Freeman said.

This qualitative input, combined with data collected throughout the process of the comprehensive study, will seek to provide a path forward for better service once the study is completed in fall 2025.

“We haven’t gotten all the survey responses back yet, so I’m really eagerly waiting to get those, and we can kind of digest those and try to get a plan for the future,” Freeman said.

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