Cape to pay $110,000 to continue bus service

A fixed-route bus service in Cape Girardeau will continue to roll along with funding assistance from the city.

The city council Monday approved a new contract with the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority (CTA).

Under the contract, the city will pay $110,000 to the CTA during fiscal 2018.

The contract is renewable for up to five years, although both parties could seek changes to the agreement during that time period, according to deputy city clerk Bruce Taylor.

Tom Mogelnicki, CTA executive director, welcomed the new contract.

“It’s been a good partnership,” he said. “I am happy with the contract.”

Mogelnicki said this is the first time the annual contract has contained a provision that allows it to be renewed for the same terms over a multiyear period.

The arrangement makes it easier for the CTA to plan ahead financially, he said Wednesday.

The city’s financial contribution covers about a third of the annual expense of the bus service, Mogelnicki said.

Nominal fares are charged riders, but federal funds cover the majority of the $300,000-a-year operation, he said.

Mogelnicki said the CTA began operating more than a decade ago. It started its 11th year of transit service April 1, he said.

The city’s annual funding for the service has remained at $110,000 for a number of years, Mogelnicki said.

Mayor Harry Rediger said ridership has grown. The bus service provides more than 7,000 rides a month, he said.

In 2015, ridership of the fixed-route buses totaled nearly 69,000, averaging more than 5,700 riders a month, according to the CTA.

The bus system provides about 80,000 rides a year, Mogelnicki said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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