Shuttle route coming to Cape

Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority officials said Monday they will begin operating a deviated fixed bus route inside the Cape Girardeau city limits by July 1. A deviated route would allow a bus to travel a quarter mile outside a proposed route to pick up riders with medical conditions, transit authority director Jeff Brune said.

Officials announced the plan while disclosing that the authority will pay $360,000 for Kelley Transportation Co., a deal meant to provide the organization with enough income to run the shuttle system.

The transit authority's plan to acquire Kelley Transportation was announced last month. The two parties agreed on a price Monday, but no contract has yet been signed, said Jay Purcell, Cape Girardeau County commissioner. Purcell said the contract is in its final draft and is expected to be signed by the end of the week.

The transit authority, not the county government, is purchasing Kelley Transportation. But the county commission will co-sign the Bank of Missouri loan to secure the funding.

The proposed route will make a loop on the south end of the city, travel west on Broadway and make its way toward the west side of town to Wal-Mart and Doctors' Park. "The bus route will make stops at all the destinations people using public transportation need to go -- hospitals, grocery stores, the mall," Brune said.

The authority will purchase several 20-passenger shuttle buses, much like Southeast Missouri State University's shuttles, to carry passengers.

Brune said the bus route is based on the suggestions of a transportation consultant who conducted a Missouri Department of Transportation-funded study on public transportation inside the city limits. A bus route would be the least expensive form of public transportation for users, Brune said. It would also provide unlimited services and would not be regulated by coupons.

Taxi coupons used under the current program will expire on July 1. The authority has decided not to continue a service similar to the taxi-coupon program but will authorize vouchers that various social service agencies can provide to low-income clients.

Brune said customers will pay the same or less for the fixed bus route than they did for the city's current taxi-coupon program.

A plan to have a bus stop in Jackson to bring residents to Cape Girardeau is also a possibility, Brune said. "A lot of this is tentative, and we're going to have to do a lot of tweaking once things get running," he said.

Operating hours have not yet been determined for the bus system, but it will not run 24-hours a day.

The authority also plans to run a demand-response transportation service in which residents would call 24 hours in advance for a ride, and a 24-hour dial-a-ride or taxi-cab service.

Future plans include establishing a countywide shuttle bus system which would travel into the surrounding smaller cities several times a week.

Customer contracts for courier and taxi services included in the purchase of Kelley Transportation Co. will provide the transit authority with a new source of income. The income will provide the local match needed to secure more transportation money from MoDOT to expand the transit service. Federal funding administered through MoDOT pays for 80 percent of the cost of new vehicles.

"There would be no way to run something like this if we didn't have those contracts for the courier and taxi services," Brune said. "With public transportation, you have to get other forms of income to run an efficient system."

He said the transit authority has placed orders for more vehicles. Initially the authority will operate 20 vehicles, including wheelchair vans, mini-vans and shuttle buses.

In the buyout of Kelley, the transit authority is not purchasing any of its vehicles or the building at 41 N. Sprigg St.

Commissioner Purcell said the county government paid $4,000 to an independent appraiser, but expects to be reimbursed by the transit authority and Kelley once the transaction has been completed.

Once the contract has been signed, officials will release the appraisal of the business.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246