New buses, new bus routes, new bus signs and more. JTRAN is back. See details

JTRAN is officially back.

After years of planning, redesigning and community outreach, the city's bus system was fully relaunched Monday morning. Residents may have seen the huge blue and orange buses chugging along on their routes.

To celebrate, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and Christine Welch, the city's deputy director of transportation, held a press conference and ribbon cutting ceremony at Union Station on Monday.

"We now look like any city in the United States of America," Welch said. "We want all of our constituents here in the city to come out and ride JTRAN. It's an experience."

Welch said the new bus system is a world away from the JTRAN of yesteryear, which had troubles with buses breaking down and not showing up to bus stops on time. The old buses also had accessibility issues for people with disabilities, broken air conditioners in the summertime and broken heating in the winter.

See more on JTRAN bus routes: See what is new with Jackson public transit, bus routes

But all of that has been kicked to the curb. JTRAN has been redesigned to have a brand new website, better bus shelters, onboard announcements for upcoming stops and a JTRAN app to download on your phone that provides riders with real-time schedule information. In total, the city received $14 million in grants to buy new buses, Welch said, and leftover money will be used to purchase more buses if anything goes wrong.

New bus routes, 12 in all, and new schedules have also been relaunched. Riders can view the new routes on the app or at the JTRAN website. They can also track their buses to see how close they are to the stop and when they will arrive.

"I want to underscore how big this effort has been," Lumumba said. "I remember prior administrations talking about the struggle with the buses and there was an effort without money on how do we sustain our public transit system … This has been through several planning directors and this work has been passed on, so securing the buses was big."

Lumumba also praised Welch and the JTRAN team for redesigning the bus routes to maximize their efficiency for riders.

Lawsuits due to unsafe roads in Jackson: Jackson MS unsafe roads led to 13 lawsuits, including 2 wrongful death lawsuits

JPS 5-year strategic plan: Jackson Public Schools held a meeting to discuss its 5-year strategic plan. What happened

The mayor also recommitted that he would still be willing to talk with officials in the City of Ridgeland if they want to partner with Jackson and use the bus system. Lumumba said an offer was sent to extend the JTRAN bus routes into Ridgeland, but Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee rejected that offer.

"This would not only help our ridership but it benefits his (McGee's) city," Lumumba said. "Sometimes people have preconceived notions and there is some stigma around people riding buses, and who that is and the element that it brings. These are individuals that deserve to be a part of our economy just like anyone else and we have to support them."

Further, Lumumba said working, efficient bus systems are important because they help decrease generational poverty.

"When you look at the data, the closest statistical barrel to generational poverty or the cycles of poverty isn't as much education — even though that's important — as it is people's commute time. Their ability to get to-and-from the places that they need to get to," Lumumba said. "This (JTRAN) is dignity. This is the type of love that we owe our residents."

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson, MS public bus system is new and improved details on JTRAN