KELLEY TO BOW OUT

The City of Cape Girardeau may have to look at some other options for its taxi coupon program.

Kelley Transportation Co., which provides the taxi service to the city, has told city officials that it is withdrawing the bid for the $374,800 contract to provide the taxi service for coupon users.

The current contract expires July 1.

The grant program allows the taxi service and the city to provide coupons for one-way trips at reduced fares.

Currently, residents can buy 14 coupons a month for the service at a cost of $1 for elderly and $2 for other residents.

Cape Girardeau City Manager, Mike Miller confirmed that Terrence Kelley, who owns the taxi company, recently submitted a letter saying the company wanted to terminate its participation in the coupon program.

With no other cab company in town, the city will have to re-look the program. "We'll have to see if some other firm would be interested," said Miller. The city had a bus system in previous years, but it failed for lack of passengers.

Meanwhile, Miller said he would meet with Kelley next week to discuss the matter.

Every year the council hears complaints from residents about the cab service. Mostly, people complain about having to wait for a cab, sometimes as long as an hour.

A number of individuals appeared before the council last week, complaining about the current taxi coupon system, and a 24-hour advance notice for people with disabilities.

Kelley has also heard the complaints, saying that if he knew a solution to the problems he'd fix them.

"I know about the complaints," he said recently, "and if I knew what to do I'd be in good shape. I've got the cars and the dispatchers, but not the drivers."

Finding workers to operate the 24-hour service isn't easy, said Kelley recently. The cab company has been running in Cape Girardeau since 1959. It operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Kelley estimated that 35 to 45 percent of his company's business comes through the city taxi coupon program.

But without enough drivers, there is no way to meet the demand for cabs. Six drivers each work a 12-hour day shift, which doesn't include the wheelchair accessible van.

The Cape Girardeau County Transit Committee has looked at a transit service for Jackson, Cape Girardeau and the county but have not come to any conclusions.