Transit authority to raise Jackson rates

The price of transportation is going up for Jackson residents who use Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority services. Rides will cost between $5 and $5.50. The new fees match the lowest paid by Cape Girardeau riders. Jackson riders had been paying $3 or $3.50, depending on the area of the city from which they called.

Today a public hearing on the new prices begins at 3 p.m. at Cape Girardeau County administration offices at 1 Barton Square in Jackson.

Jackson Mayor Barbara Lohr said she plans to be there listening to comments. She said transit authority riders have complained to her about having to wait up to an hour for rides.

"I am very anxious to see what our folks in Jackson have to say about the transit authority," she said. "That will give us an idea of where we should go."

The Jackson Board of Aldermen agreed Tuesday to pay the transit authority a $7,500 subsidy, $1,500 more than last year. Lohr said the money equals $1 for each rider who uses the service and pays full price. The funding is far from the original request by Tom Mogelnicki, the transit authority's interim executive director, for more than $30,000.

At the same time, the Cape Girardeau City Council tabled Mogelnicki's $20,000 request. He had originally asked for a $40,000 increase in the city's $70,000 subsidy last year, to pay for expanding the fixed-route bus service. The council agreed to pay $20,000 more, half the requested increase, telling Mogelnicki to return in six months to discuss the additional $20,000.

The council also assigned city financial director John Richbourg to review the transit authority's finances. On Tuesday, he said the transit authority's budget needed to reflect more specific information on spending and cost projections, but he was not sure the authority's computer software was capable of doing that.

"My gut feeling is we do need to support it," Richbourg told the city council. Mogelnicki said he planned to provide Richbourg with a five-year plan for vehicle maintenance and replacement, as well as more specific figures on bus route costs.

"They're being very reasonable, and we're real close," Mogelnicki said.

People seem to forget, he said, that the transit authority serves the entire county and that the on-call rides are available around the clock, 365 days a year. The transit authority's 27 vehicles are used to make deliveries as well as help people travel, he said.

At the same time, the cost of gas has cut into the organization's financial projections, as did the unexpected loss of a $75,000 federal grant.

Mogelnicki said he hopes to add a third bus route in Cape Girardeau this year and has ordered two wheelchair-accessible vans and a bus.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127