Kenner votes to leave New Orleans RTA | Jefferson Parish

The Kenner City Council on Friday approved an agreement that clears the way for Jefferson Parish to take over operation of the city’s bus routes from the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority starting in September.

The move, which officials say will improve service for travelers, comes after Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng successfully lobbied the state Legislature earlier this year to allow the parish to withdraw from the RTA after a contract dispute caused half of the board to resign.

When it is taken over as expected on Sept. 22, Jefferson Parish plans to operate the Kenner Loop as is, with some minor changes. That includes adding stops at the hospital on West Esplanade Avenue and the Social Security Administration building on Joe Yenni Boulevard.

“Then we’ll review the route, look at the efficiency, look at the data, look at the ridership and just make improvements,” said Valerie Brolin, an assistant to Kenner Mayor Michael Glaser.

In an interview earlier this month, Lee Sheng pointed to the lack of signage on the Kenner Loop — a problem on several RTA routes — as a simple way Jefferson Parish can improve service.

“There’s no sign. I think, ‘How do people know the bus stops here?’” she said.

The RTA was created by the Legislature in 1979 to serve four parishes in metropolitan New Orleans: Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Tammany.

But the dream of creating a multi-parish public transportation agency never materialized. St. Bernard and St. Tammany opted not to participate, while Jefferson Parish limited its involvement to a handful of routes.

By removing the Kenner Loop from the RTA’s purview, perhaps the most regional aspect of the Regional Transit Authority disappears.

In an interview, RTA CEO Lona Edwards Hankins said connecting the Greater New Orleans region remains central to her agency’s mission. She noted that Jefferson Parish uses RTA’s Le Pass app and that the parish will be involved in efforts to improve fare technology.

Even with Jefferson Parish pulling out, the RTA will continue to run its buses to certain locations in Jefferson Parish, such as Elmwood and Louis Armstrong International Airport. There is also a route to Nunez Community College in St. Bernard Parish.

The funding the RTA currently receives from the Federal Transit Administration for the Kenner Loop will be passed on to Jefferson Parish, Brolin said. Jefferson Parish will include Kenner in existing contracts it has for bus stops and shelters.

The item approved Friday amends the termination clause in Kenner’s contract with the RTA. Currently, a six-month notice period is required to terminate the agreement. The amendment shortens that timeline.

The RTA board was expected to ratify its end to the agreement at a meeting on Tuesday, but there were not enough board members present to form a quorum.