TRAVELERS HIT THE ROAD FOR THANKSGIVING

As Thanksgiving Day dawned, not everyone had reached their destinations for the holiday gatherings.

The number of travelers through the area Thursday was predictably higher than typical, said Ray Duffey, president of Bootheel Area Rapid Transportation in Cape Girardeau.

BART, a van service for air travelers, transported about 45 people to the St. Louis airport for further travel to destinations unknown, Duffey said. They came from the Bootheel, and areas around Carbondale and Springfield, Ill.

On Thanksgiving Day, BART vans made six trips from Cape Girardeau, six from Carbondale and two from Springfield. That's more than double the trips made on a typical day.

Only two people left Cape Girardeau by Greyhound bus on Thursday, said Nancy Dennis, a ticket agent at the Fill-Up Mart, 305 N. Frederick. They were both headed to the St. Louis area.

Wednesday was much busier for bus travelers. Two tickets were sold for northern destinations while six people headed south.

Dennis said almost all the bus seats already were reserved for the holiday weekend. She said she could still sell tickets, but she couldn't guarantee a seat would be available when the bus stopped in town.

Dennis said it would probably be Tuesday before she could guarantee a seat on a bus going toward St. Louis or Memphis, Tenn.

As to BART's service, passengers are picked up in Dexter, Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Fruitland and Perryville in Southeast Missouri. Thursday's number of passengers was light compared to Wednesday, when about 125 people booked the service.

On Wednesday BART made nine trips to St. Louis from the Cape Girardeau area, nine from Carbondale and five from Springfield.

"It started building on Tuesday, and Wednesday was the culmination," Duffey said.

He thinks the service will again have a very busy day on Saturday with even more travelers returning home on Sunday.

On holidays, the number of people returning to Cape Girardeau from St. Louis is relatively close to the passenger loads leaving the area, particularly compared to days when students are moving in or out of area universities.

Still, Duffey said the 14 trips for 45 passenger to St. Louis on Thursday wasn't very economical. But it is part of the service to provide transportation even on holidays, he said.

"We run whenever we have people to take on a trip," Duffey said. "If someone makes a confirmed reservation with us two days in advance, we will make the trip even if we're hauling only one person."

Company drivers have been "very good" about working on holidays, Duffey said.

"They know that we have to offer the service on holidays. The drivers usually work it out so they trade holidays," he said. "It's a balance between meeting a commitment to our passengers and fairness to our employees."

The drivers also try to be responsive to their passengers' needs and desires, Duffey said. Drivers will sometimes make an extra trip to the St. Louis airport just so a passenger can be home with his family that same evening.

A predominant amount of BART's passengers are picked up or dropped at the St. Louis airport, Duffey said. Some passengers also ride to St. Louis area hospitals or to the Amtrak stations in Kirkwood or downtown St. Louis.