The University of Florida’s proposal to reduce its share of Regional Transit System funding has some city employees worried.
Lajuan Jones-Williams, 36, the vice president of the bus drivers union, has been an RTS driver for 10 years.
Jones-Williams said her livelihood could be at stake if UF’s proposal goes through. She said she enjoys her job because of how she's able to interact with the public and helps people get from point A to point B.
“I feel sad, I feel devastated. A lot of people could potentially lose their jobs, a way of providing for their family,” Jones-Williams said.
Jones-Williams said she would have to rethink her career aspirations.
“I don’t know, I would have to figure out how to get myself a new trade or go back to school to figure out how to provide for my family.”
On Tuesday, UF proposed a nearly 50% reduction in RTS funding from $13.7 million to $6.8 million a year.
Zefnia Durham, president of the Gainesville bus driver union, said it’s unlikely the city misunderstood the university’s position as UF spokesman Steve Orlando said Tuesday.
“The information that was given was really clear,” he said.
The city estimates roughly 50 staffed positions would be lost if UF’s proposal moves forward.
Giancarlo Rodriguez, a senior political science major, said there’s been no transparency between UF and the student body about the RTS proposal.
“The University of Florida and Ben Sasse’s administration, they seem to be defunding and taking away money from things without having a conversation. There was no discussion of how the money could be used better,” said Rodriguez.
Andrew Perez-Ledo, a UF sophomore chemical engineering student, said he depends on routes 9 and 35 to get to classes and go home afterward.
Perez-Ledo, like thousands of other UF students, relies on RTS to get to most places, including athletic events and run errands outside of school. Eliminating or reducing bus service would affect his mobility.
“That would be unfortunate. I don’t know what I could do, one of the buses I would take home sometimes already got cut, the 34. So, dude, if they take away the 9 and 35, I’d have no way to get to school,” Perez-Ledo said.
Rodriguez said UF may be making a big mistake.
“This bus service is super important to not only UF students but to Gainesville residents,” he said. “It really helps us a lot, and I fear that by the time that the UF administration and a lot of folks realize how important the RTS was that it will be too late, and we’ll already be feeling the consequences.”
