Jacksonville Transportation Authority Executive Director Nathaniel Ford has led transportation agencies in San Francisco and Atlanta, but said Jacksonville offered him what he said the others didn't.
"I believe there is a blank canvas. That's how I am walking in to this," said Ford, who began his role Dec. 3.
Having the ability to build JTA is an opportunity not afforded in other major metro areas with long-established transportation systems, he said.
"I think the Jacksonville area is poised for a major revamping. I think it's right on the cusp of that and things are lining up," he said.
Ford specifically notes Downtown revitalization efforts and the work of the Regional Transportation Study Commission to develop the framework for a regional transportation plan.
Ford, 51, was unanimously selected by the JTA board of directors Oct. 10 to succeed Michael Blaylock, who retired in December after leading the authority for 10 years. The JTA is an independent authority that provides transit services and roadway infrastructure.
Ford will present his first executive report to the JTA board Jan. 31.
It could include results from an organizational review he is personally conducting along with results from a leadership review by outside firm TransTech Management Inc. that started before he arrived.
He will continue to meet with firm representatives for their results, he said.
He said there could be a management reorganization, but that would be determined after a "top-to-bottom" analysis. He said his report likely will include his observations, his priorities and what he considers opportunities for improvement.
He said finances and ensuring the authority has the funds to accomplish its goals will be part of that discussion, which will include an ongoing review of reducing expenditures and raising revenues.
A large part of what he wants to discuss involves improved customer service, discovering what the authority is doing right and "areas we're not doing so well in."
"We are going to be open and transparent and we want input," he said.
Ford said the organizational analysis includes feedback from customers about what types of transportation and routes customers want to see.
He said those conversations have to include the financial impacts of those "cautious and deliberate" decisions on the authority's direction, but will be communicated to the public.
"I want to be here long enough to see those decisions through. So when I make those decisions, I live with those decisions," he said.
One decision could be the conversion of JTA's fleet from diesel to alternative fuels, a subject he discussed at a Dec. 13 energy forum Downtown.
In Atlanta, he oversaw the agency's conversion of 700 fleet vehicles over a five-year period. He said a similar program might work for JTA's fleet, after reviewing the availability and costs of alternative fuels.
Finances will determine what can be accomplished. A looming discussion for JTA will be the gas tax, a 6-cents-a-gallon surcharge approved by City Council in 1986 that helps fund the authority. It was set to expire in 1996 before receiving a 20-year extension to 2016.
In fiscal 2012, the authority collected $27.3 million, accounting for almost a third of its funding.
The internal analysis comes before asking for such support, he said.
"Before I start asking for the gas tax or something else, I have to make sure we have our financial house in order, our own resources. I have to make sure I do everything I can," he said.
Attracting ridership is one way to increase revenues and Ford said he is taking a comprehensive look at how to better attract and serve customers.
That includes service Downtown.
"I'm beating the drum," he said of Downtown and how to adjust the system to address transportation routes and serve urban core events.
He said he has chosen to live Downtown.
"I had my years of mowing grass and things of that nature," he said. "Downtown revitalization is real for me. I am living it."
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