Fare cuts, better Jackson service on tap for county transit authority

Taxi fares in Cape Girardeau and Jackson will be lower for most passengers when the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority eliminates an advance booking discount.

During a meeting the authority's board of directors Wednesday, executive director Jeff Brune received permission to change the fare structure that will reduce daytime taxi rates by $1 to $1.50 and night rates by $2 in Cape Girardeau and cut fares in half for rides in Jackson. Fares from Jackson to Cape Girardeau will also fall by $2.

Along with the taxi fare changes, board members directed Brune to develop a business plan for 2007 that considers the possibility of a second scheduled bus route for Cape Girardeau and a looping bus route for daytime users, especially senior citizens, in Jackson.

"At some point, a fixed-route bus will have to work in Jackson," board president Doug Richards said.

The fare changes are part of the authority's growing pains, reflecting lessons learned since it took over taxi service in July and began operating mass transit buses. While a little over a third of taxi riders booked their rides in advance, the authority's computer software isn't written to handle such scheduling and many more riders didn't use the booked taxi ride when a driver arrived, Brune said.

"We have a huge problem with no-shows," Brune said. "The no-show issue is one of our biggest issues."

The lowered on-demand fares should result in slightly higher revenue from taxi rides in Cape Girardeau, Brune said in an interview after the meeting. In Jackson. the vast majority of ride calls are from senior citizens and handicapped users taking advantage of subsidized rides paid by the Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging.

Voluntary donations

Riders using the subsidies may ride for nothing, but the transit authority is allowed to ask for voluntary donations. But subsidized rides are limited to "life needs," such as medical care or grocery shopping, Brune said. By creating lower fares in Jackson, he hopes to lure more riders. "There are other places to go besides medical facilities and life-need type areas," he said. "We want them to know the service is available and that it costs more than just a donation."

Enhanced service in Jackson is also a way to defuse any criticism the authority faces as a result of the expansion earlier this year. The authority moved its offices to Cape Girardeau from and a lot of emphasis has been focused on making the Cape Girardeau operation work.

Hearsay evidence shows there is some grumbling in Jackson, city administrator Jim Roach said. "I couldn't say I have heard anything directly but I have heard through third persons that some are dissatisfied, that it is a little less convenient and a little more expensive."

The authority recently received a $40,000 boost, to $95,000, from the Senior Citizens Service Fund Board, which distributes local tax dollars. Sometime early next year, the transit agency will begin a voucher program for senior citizens to use the senior fund board money to cut their taxi costs.

Brune said he plans to ask the Jackson Board of Aldermen for an increase in the $6,000 annual subsidy from Jackson.

A plan for increased services, such as a bus route, would be welcome and make the aldermen more likely to approve an increase, Roach said.

"We'd be willing to look at it and we have done extra or a special appropriation when they have come in with a particular need," Roach said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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