Sources say county to buy taxi company

~ Cape Girardeau County officials have scheduled a news conference for next week but declined to comment on Friday.

Cape Girardeau County officials will announce Monday that the county transit authority will take over public transportation within Cape Girardeau's city limits by purchasing Kelley Transportation Co. Inc., sources said Friday.

The transit authority will use a bank loan to purchase the 45-year-old cab company, sources reported.

County officials have scheduled a news conference for 10 a.m. Monday. Numerous public officials have been invited.

Several sources in and out of county government confirmed the deal and explained the purpose of the news conference on condition of anonymity.

Combining the two operations is a step toward making public transit in the county more efficient, sources said.

The county transit authority provides services to residents who live outside the city limits but cannot move users from point to point within Cape Girardeau. Kelley's company provides rides to users of the city's taxpayer-subsidized coupon program as well as operating a full-price taxi service.

Users of the coupon program may not use them for trips outside Cape Girardeau city limits.

Limitations on public transportation have repeatedly been the area's No. 1 problem, according to surveys conducted by the United Way of Southeast Missouri.

A Virginia consulting firm, BMI-SG, reported last fall on possible solutions for public transit in Cape Girardeau County. The company was paid $225,000 by the Missouri Department of Transportation to conduct the review.

A final report will be ready soon, Frank Spielberg of BMI-SG said Friday.

Adding a fixed-route bus system in Cape Girardeau could cost $650,000 a year or more than double the current cost of the subsidized taxi service, Spielberg said last fall. That estimate assumes the city drops the taxi-voucher program.

Keeping the taxi-coupon program and adding a fixed-route van service would cost an estimated $760,000 a year, the consultant said.

County commissioners Gerald Jones, Jay Purcell and Larry Bock declined to give details of the announcement they plan to make at the Monday news conference. Transit authority director Jeff Brune also declined comment.

Miki Gudermuth, executive director of the SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, said she was unaware of the deal but praised the move. She said it would eliminate the "turf issue" that previously prevented the transit authority from providing point-to-point van rides inside the Cape Girardeau limits.

Gudermuth in the past has criticized the taxi company for long delays in picking up handicapped riders. Her organization now operates two vans with transit funds through the Missouri Department of Transportation, and about 100 disabled residents regularly use the service.

"I don't know how it will affect us yet," she said.

Shirley Tarwater of the Missouri Department of Transportation's public transit program said the county transit authority doesn't need state approval to buy the taxi company as long as the authority isn't seeking federal transit money to finance the transaction.

Kimberly Kelley, owner of Kelley Transportation, 41 N. Sprigg St., could not be reached Friday for comment. Doug Richards, chairman of the county transit authority board, could not be reached for comment.

Under the city program, riders may purchase 14 coupons each month, good for a one-way ride, for $2 each. Elderly and disabled individuals may buy the coupons for $1 each. The city program costs more than $300,000 a year; state and federal is combined with local contributions to cover the cost.

Cape Girardeau city finance director John Richbourg said he was unaware of the pending purchase. Any change in vendor for the coupon program would require council approval if the program is to continue, he said.

Studies show that in 2005, between all the public transportation agencies, 300,000 trips were made in Cape Girardeau County.

Southeast Missourian reporters Jennifer Freeze, Mark Bliss and Scott Moyers contributed to this report.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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