Jonesboro Transit System plans to build $778,000 HQ.(NE Journal: A Look at News From Northeast Arkansas)

The Jonesboro Economical Transit System said it would start construction on a $778,000, 8,000-SF headquarters in the next few months.

The money for the project came from a U.S. Department of Transportation stimulus grant that was given to transit agencies, according to Steve Ewart, director of JETS.

Construction of the headquarters should be completed in late 2010.

The number of riders has increased every year since the bus system started rolling in 2006.

Through the first six months of this year, however, JETS had 32,737 riders, which was down 11.5 percent from the same period in 2008, Ewart said.

He attributed the dip in passengers to a drop in gas prices from last summer, when they were about $4 per gallon, to just over $2 a gallon this summer.

In addition, unemployment has increased in Craighead County. In June 2008, Jonesboro's unemployment rate was 4.7 percent. In June 2009, the rate had increased to 6.9 percent.

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