Jefferson Transit Hurricane Evacuation for Hurricane Gustav

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In an effort unprecedented to anything Jefferson Parish has seen in the past, Jefferson Transit (JeT) transported over 3,500 Jefferson Parish residents during the evacuation and re-entry procedures for Hurricane Gustav.  The evacuation began at 7 AM on Saturday August 30, and ran through the night without breaks until noon on Sunday.  This was to ensure that everyone who needed assistance evacuating was transferred to a Parish Processing Point and then out of the parish.  Many dedicated employees worked overtime and stayed to ensure that everyone who needed help was able to evacuate. 

Due to the effective planning and coordination efforts of the Parish President and other parish officials, we were able to establish Parish Processing Points located at the Joseph S. Yenni Building on the Eastbank and the Alario Center on the Westbank.   Jefferson Transit’s Mobility Impaired Transit System (MITS) provided service to elderly, handicapped, and special needs persons who were not able to use the fixed route evacuation service. For the fixed route evacuation, JeT ran buses along all normal Eastbank routes and additional service was added to Clearview Parkway and the RTA Kenner Loop routes.  On the Westbank, all normal fixed routes were used for the evacuation process.  No fares were collected during the evacuation and riders were allowed to bring one small suitcase and caged pets. 

For the re-entry effort, FEMA buses brought all returning residents to the Elmwood AMC Palace Theatre.  From there JeT buses took residents back along fixed routes and MITS vehicles returned all elderly, handicapped, and special needs persons to their desired destinations.   There was no set time for the FEMA buses to return, but JeT was able to have bus operators on hand day and night to help residents come home.   

Overall, the Transit Director, Mr. Ryan Brown stated, “The evacuation and re-entry was successful.  I would like to thank all of the employees for their dedication and hard work to make the evacuation a success.  In addition, I would like to thank Veolia Transportation and MITS.”