Transit authority upbeat about service

~Director updates Cape Girardeau city council on progress of county's public transportation service.

Cape Girardeau County's new transit system has encountered some growing pains in its first four months but ridership is at expected levels, its executive director told Cape Girardeau city council Monday night.

Officials hope the ridership experience will improve with new dispatching software and bus-stop shelters.

"It's encouraging that what we put in place is being utilized, and there is actually demand for more services," said Jeff Brune, executive director of the Cape County Transit Authority.

Brune said the system handled 32,776 trips as of Oct. 31; nearly 90 riders per day in the month of October. That figure is on pace with transit study estimates that predicted 100,000 riders in the first year.

Brune said the majority of calls he gets from riders encourage him to expand the service, begin a North-South route or extend the hours.

The next upgrades will likely be new high-tech software for dispatchers and bus-stop shelters for riders.

"People rely on our service to go to work. We don't want them standing out in the elements," Brune said.

For the software, Brune would like to see the transit system follow the lead of Paducah, Ky., which handles about 500,000 trips per year. Paducah's software shows its dispatchers where the vehicle is, where its pick-ups are and even how fast the vehicle is going.

This, Brune said, is a far cry from the current system which requires dispatchers to look at maps and radio drivers to determine their location.

"It's a Band-Aid right now," he said.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is facilitating a statewide procurement for new software that will be available to local officials for only 20 percent of the total cost.

Another problem with the transit system is the riders taking advantage of the half-price discount for taxi riders who call 24 hours ahead of time.

"We've had a lot of no-shows," Brune said. "They don't call us to say, 'hey I got a ride from my boyfriend, I don't need to be picked up.'"

Brune said a fairer system would be similar to the one in Paducah which charges $1.75 per mile and offers only a $0.25 per mile discount for those who reserve ahead of time.

The board will vote on proposed changes on Nov. 29.

City council members also voted on the first reading to approve the annexation of Whispering Oaks subdivision into city limits. Residents of that subdivision between County Roads 618 and 620 have been unhappy recently when developer Rodney Arnold began building multi-family homes on the land. Many said Arnold violated promises not to build anything other than R-1, single-family units there.

On Monday, representatives from eight households were present to support the annexation. "We came partly to make sure the mayor and city council heard positive feedback rather than just the drumbeat of negativity. We're on board and are happy about annexation," said Mike Ingram of 136 Oak Glenn.

Although disputes with Arnold continue, residents have largely chosen to separate those hard feelings from annexation.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245