JTA shuts down Skyway earlier than planned over staffing issues; no reopening date announced

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority suspended its Skyway operations unexpectedly early Friday morning, citing staffing issues. The transit system was originally scheduled to pause service on Monday, Nov. 2, due to ongoing budget issues.

Skyway operations were set to pause Friday evening ahead of broader service changes taking effect Nov. 2. However, unexpected staffing shortages forced transit officials to close the system several hours ahead of schedule on Friday morning.

At the La Villa Skyway platform, the entrance to the train stop was fenced off with a notice informing riders that service would pause starting Monday, Nov. 2. Users of the JTA mobile app received a notification citing unexpected operational circumstances for the early closure.

Transit officials confirmed the cause of the early shutdown in an official statement. “As part of the service changes beginning Nov. 2, Skyway operations were scheduled to pause Friday evening,” JTA said. “Due to staffing issues, service ended Friday morning, ahead of the planned pause.”

The unexpected closure impacted local visitors, including parent Alan Ruiter and his daughter, Ariana Ruiter, who had traveled to the station to ride the train before its planned shutdown. Ariana was looking forward to her first ride on the transit system. “I was really looking forward to it,” Ariana Ruiter said. Her father expressed frustration over the sudden change in schedule.

“She hadn’t ridden it before and yeah so we were coming to do it before it closed permanently. Didn’t know they were closing it early today,” Alan Ruiter said. He added, “I’M A little disappointed. We were hoping to come and catch it.”

JTA has not yet announced a date for when Skyway services will resume.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.