DUNKLIN TRANSIT OFFERS MODEL SYSTEM

From its humble beginnings in 1980, Dunklin County Transit Services Inc. had progressed by 1998 to gain a reputation among state officials as the best rural transportation service in the state. It continues to operate in a fashion that any public transit system would be proud of in meeting the needs of people who rely on public transportation to get around.

The service, headquartered at Malden, Mo., began with a donated 12-passenger van from the Area Agency on Aging to provide transportation for the elderly. The service didn't even have the money to operate the van, but it became a not-for profit corporation soon afterwards and since has grown by leaps and bounds to provide transit services to all who need them under a centralized operation.

Today, with a 12-member board of directors, about 20 full- and part-time drivers and an office staff of four, Dunklin County Transit operates 30 buses and vans on a budget of approximately $450,000 annually. Last year, the service made 485,000 one-way trips and racked up almost 550,000 miles, serving 2,856 individuals.

The transit service provides low-cost transportation to Dunklin County residents, many of them elderly and on fixed incomes. It offers different routes on different days. Some of the buses run local routes in Malden and Kennett, Mo., and others make regular trips to Poplar Bluff, Mo., providing transportation to stores and doctors' offices. Buses even pick people up in Campbell, Gideon, Senath and other small Missouri towns on certain days. The transit service also takes people from Dunklin, Stoddard, Scott, Mississippi and Cape Girardeau counties to doctors as far away as St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn.

Most of its funding comes from federal and state money, much of it distributed by the Missouri Department of Transportation or in the form of contracts with various social- services agencies. Dunklin County Transit will receive over $107,000 from MoD0T in the fiscal year that ends June 30. It plans to spend $179,000 on capital expenses including several new vehicles and other equipment. Federal funding will pay 80 percent of the capital cost.

Cape Girardeau County for years has been talking about ways to bring together transportation services under a centralized system. The county has formed a transit authority and advisory committee, and plans to hire a consultant to map out a plan.

With the success of the Dunklin County, it doesn't seem Cape Girardeau County should have to look very far for a good model.