A federally funded study on improving transit services will look at the feasibility of establishing a fixed-route bus system in the Cape Girardeau area, officials said Thursday.

The Missouri Department of Transportation plans to hire a consultant to do the study. Shirley Tarwater, who deals with transit issues for MoDOT, said she currently is working to determine the scope of work.

The study, which will look at transit needs in Cape Girardeau city and county and Scott City, likely won't begin until next year, Tarwater said. This would be the first MoDOT-directed study of the transit needs in this area and could take six months, she said.

The cost of the study has yet to be determined.

It will look at all transit needs and how best to meet them, Tarwater said. But local officials and Tarwater said a major part of the study will focus on the feasibility of setting up a fixed-route bus system.

Gerald Jones, Cape Girardeau County presiding commissioner, announced the study at the commission meeting in Jackson.

Jones said it could give the county a "real good transit system," which would help some people whose job searches are hampered because they don't have cars.

Cape Girardeau and Joplin are the only two cities over 35,000 population in the state that don't operate public bus systems, MoDOT officials said.

The decision to do a study follows a meeting two weeks ago in Cape Girardeau involving seven officials with the state, city, county, Southeast Missouri State University and Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority.

The university operates a shuttle bus system on campus and the Transit Authority provides a point-to-point van service, primarily serving the elderly and handicapped in the Jackson area.

Jay Knudtson, Cape Girardeau's mayor, said future discussions will involve Kelley Taxi Co., which already provides government-subsidized rides in Cape Girardeau -- primarily for the elderly and handicapped.

Knudtson, Jones and Tarwater were among the seven officials who attended the transit meeting.

Double benefit

Knudtson said the area could benefit from having both the taxi service and a bus system.

Jones echoed that sentiment at the commission meeting.

"There is always a spot for a taxi service," he said.

Jeff Brune, director of the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority, said the study grew out of a request by Cape Girardeau city officials to look at possible ways to improve public transportation in the city.

Tarwater said the study will include public input.

"We talked about having open houses or neighborhood forums," she said. "We kind of wanted to get away from the public hearing process. I think people feel more comfortable in a more informal environment."

Knudtson said Thursday that the area could benefit from a fixed-route system that could shuttle students at the university and riders throughout the community.

Southeast currently operates its own shuttle buses on campus, but that operation isn't set up to serve the community as a whole, the mayor said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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