Editorial

Planning for buses

The need for dependable public transportation has been identified in a variety of community surveys as a concern for Cape Girardeau for the past decade. The issue has been addressed, in part, by the creation of the county's transit authority, whose aim is to coordinate existing publicly funded transportation services. And another study -- the latest in a long string of consultants and reports -- is in the works.

But the county transit authority only provides services for residents outside the city of Cape Girardeau, leaving a large population of low-income, elderly and handicapped city residents to rely on a mishmash of agencies whose missions include meeting individual transportation needs.

One idea that is getting considerable attention these days in Cape Girardeau is the creation of a fixed-route bus system. There are too many unanswered questions at this point to determine if such a plan has merit or is economically feasible -- which is why it is much too early to be talking about earmarking funding for a transit system.

The Cape Girardeau City Council has made it clear that it won't commit now to any future use of the transportation trust fund, which relies on a special sales tax to pay for street projects, to pay for public transportation. Council members correctly determined at the outset of the trust fund program in 1995 that revenue from the special sales tax should be spent only on a well-publicized priority list of specific street projects. That has been a significant factor in support for the trust fund both in 1995 and 2000 requests for voter approval. Voters will be asked this year to approve another five-year trust fund package.

But the council's decision doesn't mean there isn't a need to address public transportation. In order to do that effectively, there needs to be a plan: What would a bus system cost? What would the routes be? What would the fares be? When would the buses run? Once this basic information is put together, then it will be time to consider funding sources.

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