Growing Cape County Transit system seeks funds to replace high-mileage vehicles

Robert Simms relies on Cape County Transit buses to travel to work.

"I can't afford a car right now," he said while waiting patiently at a bus stop in Cape Girardeau's Town Plaza.

"It makes a big difference," he said of the public transit system he regularly uses to get across town.

Simms is not alone. The Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority is expected to have provided 200,000 rides by year's end, which includes bus and taxi rides. Rides within the city of Cape Girardeau will account for about 60 percent of the total, said Tom Mogelnicki, CTA executive director.

The fleet travels about 1.5 million miles a year, adding to the need to replace some of the high-mileage vehicles, he said.

Passengers get off a Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority bus at Wal-Mart in Cape Girardeau. The authority's fleet travels about 1.5 million miles a year, and officials want to replace the high-mileage vehicles. (Fred Lynch)

Mogelnicki, who has led the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority since 2007, has seen a dramatic increase in ridership.

"When I first started, we were doing about 300 or 400 (fixed-route) rides a week," he recalled. "Today, we are doing about 1,500 rides a week on the fixed route."

The CTA operates 41 vans of various sizes, including 15-passenger vehicles. Eight of those vehicles, or 20 percent of the fleet, have registered 200,000 miles or more.

"Our maintenance is astronomical, about $9,000 a month, " Mogelnicki said.

Fueling up also is costly.

"We burn about 10,000 gallons of fuel a month. If fuel prices go down $1, I save $10,000," he noted.

Mogelnicki wants to replace eight to 10 of the highest-mileage vehicles. Federal grant money would help pay for that, but first, the transit authority must secure 20 percent matching funds. Mogelnicki has sought higher contributions from the municipalities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson to help secure federal funds.

"We are trying to raise $80,000 to $100,000," he said. "We would need about $10,000 match money per vehicle."

The transit system operates on an annual budget of about $2.5 million.

"A lot of people don't understand how big we are. We have over a million-dollar payroll," Mogelnicki said.

The transit service employs 70 people, the majority of whom are drivers.

The transit system is growing, he said, noting ridership has climbed by more than 50,000 since 2010.

"We have 61 bus stops in the city of Cape Girardeau."

The transit service has no fixed route in Jackson, although city officials have suggested a fixed route eventually may be feasible, depending on the ridership demand.

Funding for the transit system depends on a tapestry of government grants, employer partnerships, contributions from local governments and transit fares.

Bus rides generate about $23,000 a year. Taxi rides, which have higher fares and greater usage, bring in about $700,000 in annual revenue, Mogelnicki said.

But he noted federal regulations prohibit the use of ride fares as matching money for grants.

Federal funds, secured with a 50 percent match, provide about $650,000 a year to the transit system to help pay operating costs. Another source of funding is a $300,000 contract to provide transportation for Medicaid patients to medical providers throughout the region.

"We go to St. Louis at least once or twice a day," he said.

The CTA also receives $118,000 annually in money from a county tax that funds various services for the elderly. Advertising on vans generates about $50,000 a year.

In addition, the CTA provides workforce transportation to a Perryville, Missouri, manufacturing company, funded by a government grant and employer contributions.

Local governments help fund the transit service, too. The city of Cape Girardeau contributes $110,000 annually, and the county chips in $70,000. The Cape Girardeau City Council recently agreed to provide an additional $20,000 to the transit authority to help buy new vehicles.

Jackson provides another $7,500, but that is expected to increase. Mogelnicki recently asked the Jackson Board of Aldermen to contribute more. Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs said he expects the board to raise its annual contribution to $10,000 a year and provide $20,000 toward replacing vehicles.

Even without a fixed bus route in Jackson, the transit service provides rides to residents through the taxi service. Mogelnicki estimated about 30 percent of transit riders come from Jackson.

Jackson officials also have expressed interest in a possible bus route that would run between Jackson and Cape Girardeau. Mogelnicki said such a route would require additional funding to subsidize it.

Taxi fares start at $6, depending on the trip. Bus fares are cheaper -- $2 for a regular customer and $1 for senior citizens, ages 60 and older, and the disabled.

The Community Caring Council, a social services organization, provides monthly bus passes to people who need transportation to seek or maintain employment. Transit rider Simms is one of those benefiting from the bus passes. The council's Jaime Ludwig said, "We help 35 to 40 individuals a month with bus passes."

The council is billed by the CTA for such rides, typically $300 to $500 a month.

"If we did not have a transit system, a significant number of people living in poverty would not be able to access employment or social services," Ludwig said.

The CTA doesn't plan to raise fares. Mogelnicki said most transit riders are elderly residents on fixed incomes. Raising fares would be a hardship on them, he said. Increasing fares also won't help his agency secure more federal funding, he noted.

The bus and taxi services operate 24 hours a day, 6 1/2 days a week. The service doesn't run from 2 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday. The CTA used to operate seven days a week but cut back in 2009 because of little demand for Sunday evening rides, he said.

Mogelnicki said the CTA is doing its best to meet transportation needs.

"We are so busy now that there are some days we have to turn down some rides," he said, adding some out-of-town requests for taxi rides can't be met.

"We only have so many vehicles and so many drivers," he said. "We can't do it all."

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

937 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.