Driven by demand

Long waits for taxi service have some Cape Girardeau city residents wanting bus service, which hasn't been offered here in 34 years.

Constant complaints from taxi-dependent residents have steered the city council to seek the advice of the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority, whose director, Jeff Brune, believes could help set up a bus system in the city.

"There needs to be a fixed-route system in Cape Girardeau," said Brune, whose agency operates a subsidized van service that primarily serves residents in Jackson and rural areas of the county. Like a taxi service, it delivers people from point to point.

But a fixed-route bus system could operate in Cape Girardeau with shuttle buses, funded with the aid of federal transit money, Brune said.

City council members and city residents say a subsidized taxi coupon program, which has been in operation since December 1981, isn't meeting the transportation needs of the elderly and others who don't drive.

"It takes an hour to get a cab," said Jean Rabe, an elderly woman who no longer drives and must depend on taxis and or friends to get around.

A frustrated Rabe collected 38 signatures on a petition last month demanding a bus system. She sent the petition to U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, who forwarded it to Cape Girardeau city officials.

"I tried to get the ball rolling," Rabe said from her apartment on the city's west side.

Marshall Barber understands her frustration. On Thursday, the 44-year-old waited an hour and a half for a taxi to take him from his apartment to Save-A-Lot supermarket.

When he was finished shopping, he had to wait over an hour for a taxi ride home.

"My milk is getting hot," he said as he waited on a bench in the grocery store. He worried that his frozen foods would thaw before he could get home. "I am tired of waiting," he said. "It's making me mad."

A white van from the Kelley Taxi Co. finally showed up to take Barber home.

The driver, Dwayne Andrews, said he understands customers' frustrations. Andrews said it's "ridiculous" that people have to wait sometimes for hours to get a ride.

The company and its drivers are doing their best, he said, but they can't keep up with the demand even with five or six vehicles on the road.

One or two small buses

Mayor Jay Knudtson said city officials need to address the problem. "We are not meeting the needs of a large percentage of folks," he said.

Knudtson and interim city manager Doug Leslie met with Brune on June 27 to discuss the problem. The mayor asked Brune to study the matter and make some recommendations to city officials within the next several months.

Brune said a subsidized bus system with limited routes and economical fares could work. "When people think of a bus system, they think of a fleet of 30 buses. That is not what we are talking about," he said.

A system could be set up with one or two small buses that would travel a limited route that would have stops at such destinations as the Westfield Shoppingtown West Park mall, Wal-Mart and medical offices at Doctors' Park, he said.

Jefferson City, similar in size to Cape Girardeau, has a bus system, Brune said.

Cape Girardeau hasn't had a bus service since Cape Transit Co., a private business, quit running buses in the city in May 1969, citing a lack of passengers. The company's decision brought an end to 28 years of bus service. Trolley cars provided public transportation from 1893 to 1934.

Since the buses left, city councils over the years have rejected getting into the bus business, insisting that it would be too costly.

"People seem to be scared of a fixed-route bus system, but it positively impacts the economy," Brune said. "It helps business."

'Just sick and tired'

Knudtson said the city is locked into the taxi coupon program with Kelley for another year, but wants to study possible alternatives prior to the expiration of the current contract next summer.

The city annually takes bids for the taxi coupon service, but Kelley routinely is the only bidder. The lack of competition frustrates council members who continue to get complaints about the service.

"We are just sick and tired of getting calls," the mayor said.

Knudtson said Kelley has tried to meet public transportation needs. "I think they are doing the very best with the resources they have," he said.

Under the taxi coupon program, the elderly, handicapped and the public can take a taxi ride for a subsidized price.

An individual can buy a minimum of seven and a maximum of 14 taxi coupons a month. Elderly and handicapped people pay $1 per coupon, and other members of the public pay $2 per coupon.

But a typical taxi ride costs $4.50 one way. City and federal grant money pays the difference.

A total of 59,367 coupons -- including 46,632 for the handicapped and elderly -- were sold in the last fiscal year. City officials say use of the coupons has been declining.

The city spent $132,731 in federal grant money on the program last year and a similar amount out of city funds, officials said.

The SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence operates its own government-subsidized van service to transport handicapped people in the Cape Girardeau area, mostly during daytime.

"We probably have about 150 riders," said Miki Gudermuth, the organization's executive director.

But Gudermuth said she would welcome a public bus system that would serve the needs of residents and Southeast Missouri State University college students who could walk to bus stops.

In addition to bus fares, the system could generate revenue by selling advertising on the vehicles as is done in major cities, she said.

Gudermuth said a bus system won't eliminate the need for her transportation shuttle or the taxi service, but would provide another transportation option.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

At a glance

Public transportation in Cape Girardeau:

Trolleys: Trolley cars ran in the city from 1893 through 1934.

Buses: Cape Transit Co., a private business, operated a bus system from 1941 to 1969.

Taxis: The city government established a taxi coupon program, subsidized with federal grants, in December 1981. The program makes it more affordable for the elderly, handicapped and the public to use the privately run taxi service. The city sold more than 59,000 taxi coupons in the fiscal year that ended June 30.