Tag Archives: Transportation

City Trolleys Offer Free Transportation to A-State Students

Posted on by

Story by DDNS Reporter Kinley Rainwater

A blue trolley-style bus parked at the Jonesboro City Hall building. These buses offer transportation services using the GoJo Transportation System. Photo courtesy of the City of Jonesboro website.

JONESBORO, Ark. — The City of Jonesboro’s new GoJo Transportation System provides a convenient service to Arkansas State University students, offering free, campus-wide transportation. However, limited outreach to students has kept many from using the service.

The new GoJo system, previously JET, provides service to A-State and the surrounding Jonesboro area. It features six routes, ranging from on-campus hotspots to countless places in the city. The new Let’s GOJO! The app and website provide a map of all stops and routes to help users locate the nearest available transportation, as well as live tracking of all buses and trolleys.

The service is free to students with a valid student ID, providing an accessible alternative to driving or walking.

One of the most notable features of the system is the new Trolley-style buses. These vehicles provide classic aesthetics with modern functionality, which gives students a comfortable ride that is also more visually appealing than traditional transportation options.

A red trolley-style bus parked in front of the Arkansas State University Welcome Center. Photo courtesy of the City of Jonesboro website.

City officials and transportation coordinators said GoJo is meant to connect residents, visitors and students to the city of Jonesboro through expanded connections throughout the city, including A-State.

Despite the advantages to students, GoJo is relatively unknown amongst them. International student Boaz Muteba said she followed the news surrounding the new system.

“In the fall of 2024, when public transportation options were expected to increase, I was one of the individuals who participated in the meeting to get more buses,” Muteba said. “Recently, when the idea took shape, I spotted the bus on campus and even saw it featured on Instagram. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to utilize it.”

The system’s impact goes beyond convenience. By encouraging students to use public transit, Gojo supports sustainable efforts and accessibility for those without personal vehicles and eases parking demand that comes with a growing campus.

As Jonesboro and student enrollment at A-State continue to grow, GoJo presents an opportunity to strengthen connections between the city and it’s academia scene. However, its success will depend on public awareness of this new system.

Jonesboro Mayor Gives State of City, Hears Criticism over City Stars

Posted on by

Story by DDNS Reporter Mia Young

JONESBORO, Ark.- Mayor Harold Copenhaver gave his sixth State of the City address to the Jonesboro City Council on Tuesday evening, featuring major growth in the economy, finances and infrastructure, lower crime rates, and a bright future for the city.

Amid the city’s acquisition of CityStars’ finances, Copenhaver highlighted the 15 consecutive audits. He said Jonesboro is thriving and, at the end of 2025, had $28.1 million in reserves and $15 million in capital improvements.

He mentioned the growth in nearly every aspect of the city, including the 150 businesses that opened last year, 10% more calls firefighters responded to, and numerous projects ready to start. Not only projects “built for wheels,” but for pedestrians. Funds awarded to Jonesboro through the Transportation Alternatives Program will go toward new pedestrian infrastructure on the Marion Berry overpass. This will not only make the overpass safer and more walkable but will also help connect Arkansas State to the rest of Jonesboro.

“Jonesboro’s future is bright, but we’d better prepare for it now,” Copenhaver said.

He highlighted that even with the large population growth over the last decade, statistics recently released by the FBI show that violent crime is the lowest it has been in at least a decade.

More than 100,000calls were answered by dispatchers through the city’s emergency medical dispatch program. Seven calls helped guide people through CPR, and one even helped deliver a baby. Copenhaver also noted that 63% of firefighters’ and 52% of police officers’ salaries have increased.

The city also won three Trendsetter awards for Jonesboro connecting efforts, emergency medical dispatch, and the city park ranger program, and was also named Volunteer City of the Year. Copenhaver knew the council was not the only one responsible for helping win these awards; the public was a big help. He called upon citizens to make an effort to get involved and help craft a blueprint for a better city.

“But all those numbers can add up to an overall total of one. One goal, one responsibility to make Jonesboro the best city,” Copenhaver said to close his address. 

After the State of the City address, business continued as usual. A few Council members raised additional concerns regarding the handling of CityStars. Questions were raised regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, missing paperwork and invoices for individuals working the tournaments, and making sure all aspects of taking over CityStars’ finances were done legally.

Efforts are underway to move toward partial- or fully cashless events in youth sports. IT is making strides to handle this issue. The first phase of this process is to assess the cost of the required infrastructure and ensure that locations have the Wi-Fi capabilities needed to run the program.

Matt Daniel, former executive director of the Arkansas Revolution Soccer Club, spoke during public comment. He stated during the Feb. 3 City Council meeting, Copenhaver directly named him and incorrectly quoted both his CityStars resignation letter, which did not mention anyone by name, and his proposal. Daniel went on to correct Copenhaver and state what he actually said in his letter. He stated the city has maintained that CityStars operated independently, but contracts, payroll involvement, event insurance filings, and more “show a far more entangled relationship,” and people deserve to know the truth.

“Mayor Copenhaver, I have lost all confidence in your leadership for our city,” Daniel said, after stating the aforementioned documents were not any type of confidential record but documents he was a part of.

Daniel closed his public comment, giving a call to action to the council, saying, “If you have confidence in this administration, say so. If you do not, say so. Jonesboro deserves clarity.”

-30-

Keeping Roads Clear in Lawrence County

Posted on by

Delta Digital News Service

By Claire Fisher | Contributor

Feb. 3, 2023

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. – As winter weather pushes through Arkansas, city and state road crews are taking all precautions as they treat primary roads to keep transportation from freezing up.

            Arkansas sees its fair share of winter weather. The winter system that made its way into eastern Arkansas is no exception. The first round of sleet and snow began falling Monday night and continued with a second and third round Tuesday. When roads are in prime condition to freeze over, preparation by road crews keeps them from being unusable.

            Lawrence County has many highly trafficked highways leading to bigger cities. During inclement weather, the Arkansas Department of Transportation sends out crews in District 10 to treat these roads. Brad Smithee, District 10 engineer for ARDOT, said crews try to treat roads 24 hours in advance to get the best results.

            “We look at a lot of forecasting in order to keep up with the weather. We have close connections with National Weather Service, and we send out crews as soon as we get word of bad weather,” Smithee said. Treating roads when the weather has begun is not ideal, but weather is unpredictable, and crews will do whatever it takes to keep transportation running.

            According to Smithee, the roads are pretreated with a brine. “The brine is a saltwater solution that forms a barrier between the pavement and the snow, making it easier to plow.” When the brine is put onto a road it forms a crust, and the crust forms best when the solution is dispersed when it is raining “low and slow.” ARDOT crews also use rock salt to treat roads, but it is not the best treatment when there are a lot of roads to cover.

            While ARDOT focuses on main highways, city road departments take care of almost everything else. Walnut Ridge Mayor Charles Snapp said the city owns two salt trucks that are sent to treat roads when bad weather is coming. However, salt trucks release another useful ingredient when running their routes.

            “We use beet juice as a pretreatment for our roads,” Snapp said. “Beet juice is a gooey substance and it sticks to the roads better. If it is windy, the wind will just blow the salt away.” Beet juice comes in handy when treating roads because it can be cheaper than salt at some times. Walnut Ridge received three shipments of salt in December, and they only have about one-fourth left to last the rest of winter.

            According to Snapp, treating roads with beet juice first, then rock salt is proving to be the best way to clear the primary roads of the city. Road crews first clear roads leading to the hospital, then primary roads leading to Williams Baptist University, then the courthouse and lastly the sheriff’s office. Snapp said he plans to keep using this treatment as it works best for Walnut Ridge.

            Once the road crews have treated the roads, they do routine maintenance to keep them clear. But even these treatments will not be completely effective. Drivers still need to be cautious while driving in winter weather. The smallest ice patches can cause an accident. Reece Archer, a dispatcher for the Walnut Ridge Police, said accident reports rise at least 30% during winter weather. Drivers need to know which roads are unsafe for travel during ice or snow. Checking IDrive Arkansas before traveling is a good way to see if there are any road closings or roads to avoid.

JET Helps People Get Around

Posted on by

By Jessica Ladd
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO — A Jonesboro transit service changed public transportation, one trip at a time. Jonesboro Economical Transit offers fixed routes and paratransit service.

Fixed routes, the set routes the buses travel every day, now cover the entire incorporated city limits of Jonesboro. The buses operate Monday-Friday 5:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. JET buses do not run on Sunday.

“Mr. Dave” drives a bus for JET. He’s been with the company for 12 years. He said JET is a service people need.

“They (JET) take people to work every day. They rely on JET every day. You see the same people every day,” Dave said.

He said JET is an important service and people are grateful for it. Transit Director Michael Black said about 4,000 people ride the fixed routes every week.

Shantara Gilliam and Louis Crawford think highly of JET. The two are repeat users of the service. Gilliam and Crawford said so far they’ve had good service. Both plan to continue riding with the transit organization.

Gilliam does not own a car and said, “I used to use my sister’s car and my mom’s.”

Now she can use public transportation to get where she needs to be. She said JET makes getting around easier. Crawford said he likes JET’s service because it’s cheap.  They offer the lowest fare in the city. It cost $1.25 per way or $2.50 per trip. Students and senior citizens can ride at cheaper rates.

32735204337_91eb12a8dd_k

A sign posted inside a JET bus explains the bus rates. (photo by Jessica Ladd)

A 10-year transit study conducted by JET shows only 44 percent of citizens drive. Thirty-eight percent ride the bus daily. Twenty-eight percent of riders are going to and from work. Twenty-five percent ride the bus for medical purposes.

The study also found 25 percent of JET users suffer from a disability. JET’s paratransit service makes 70-85 trips a week. Black calls paratransit “a door-to-door service.” Those with a severe disability can arrange to be picked up at their home.  The disability can be permanent or temporary.

The application comes in two parts. The first part is to be filled out by the client. The second part will be filled out by a primary caregiver, such as a physician. The application is sent back to JET for review. Once approved, the client must call to set up a pickup time the day before the pickup date. If a client needs to be picked up on Tuesday they must call Monday by 5 p.m. to set up a time for pickup.  Black said there are nine individuals who use the service to get to dialysis appointments.

Black started working in transit in 2008. He became transit director in 2016. He said he’s worked hard to extend JET’s fixed routes and hours of operation. He pushed for bus routes on Saturdays and two years ago, he opened the incorporated city limits of Jonesboro up to JET. He continues to work to make JET a better service. Black said he loves his job.

“It’s different every day. We’re helping people,” he said.

Black said in the near future he would like to change the Saturday routes. Currently, three buses run on Saturdays. Black wants to have five buses driving the routes, like Monday-Friday. Saturday hours will remain the same.  He also said there are no plans for a Sunday route.

(NOTE: Featured photo shows Michael Black and members of the Advisory Board during a meeting. Photo by Jessica Ladd)