Supporters of Jefferson City's transit system would like to see the service grow, but a lack of available funds means searching for creative solutions.
Last month, the Jefferson City Council denied to increase fares on the city's transit system, citing the small amount of funds it would raise (roughly $15,000 to $30,000) for the multimillion dollar system and the significant impact it would have on riders on a fixed income. As people spoke at the public hearing on the issue, many said they were unhappy to see a proposed increase without any offering of an increase in service, especially when it comes to hours.
JeffTran operates from 6:40 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, and transit supporters have long requested those hours be increased. But that would come with a hefty price tag in a time when the council is questioning the amount of general funds spent on transit already.
Transit Division Director Mark Mehmert said it likely would cost about $1 million to $1.5 million to extend transit into the evening hours and it's very unlikely the council would be willing to pour that much more money in the system that already relies on a nearly $1 million subsidy from the general fund.
"We are providing an essential service, in my mind as essential as what people get from the police or the fire or any other city service," Mehmert said. "The hard part about that is there's always the need and the desire for more. But there are also financial realities that we have to deal with as well. So it is a balancing act and the balance that's been struck at this point is to provide a very good service at a very reasonable cost to the patrons, but for a limited number of hours."
So if there's no money to expand hours when people are requesting it, how do you fill that need?
Some communities have relied on public-private partnerships, where businesses or organizations partially fund transit operations.
Mehmert said a public-private partnership would be possible, but it comes with substantial price tag, largely because of the city's paratransit route, HandiWheels. The paratransit route costs much more to operate than the fixed-route buses, as it offers curb-to-curb service specifically designed to meet the needs of those with disabilities. Federal regulations require that whenever fixed-route buses are running, a paratransit route also must run.
"That complicates things," Mehmert said. "Running the paratransit system is not an inexpensive endeavor."
Mehmert said it's unlikely businesses would be willing to shoulder much of the cost of transit, even those whose employees depend on the service. He said those jobs tend to be lower-paying jobs and businesses are unlikely to want to add to their own costs.
Instead, he said, the more likely solution would be for area non-profits and churches to organize a supplemental system of their own, using their own buses and city bus stops. In that scenario, the city would not be an official partner, which would take out the need of a separate paratransit route.
"They would essentially run routes, for lack of a better way to put it, and provide regular transit service that would not be nearly as comprehensive, that would not be nearly as convenient, but would provide at least a skeletal way of getting around and that might be a possibility," Mehmert said. "I think that's our best bet."
Mehmert said the federal regulations involved in a public-private partnership make it extremely difficult to achieve, noting that some of the regulations make it difficult for transit to function beyond its current service.
But Jeremy Murray, an access specialist with the Independent Living Resource Center and member of Citizens for JeffTran, said the idea of church buses providing a supplemental service may not work, as the buses do not have a lift to accommodate wheelchairs, meaning they would not be compliant with the American with Disabilities Act. Murray said even if it's not a city-provided service, it must be fully accessible to be open to the public.
Vicki Schildmeyer, with Citizens for JeffTran, said any type of supplemental, skeletal service at least would show that there is a demand for evening and weekend service, and could provide an opportunity to show the council who depends on transit.
Mehmert agreed, saying any type of additional service offered by a private entity or group could prove the idea that such an expansion of hours is needed.
Short of a supplemental service, transit supporters say they have to at least increase ridership if they ever hope to convince the City Council to increase transit funding, and they are trying to come up with the best ways to do that.
Mehmert said he is trying to focus on cross-promotion by partnering with other city departments, like Parks, Recreation and Forestry, or businesses. One such idea would be a type of summer fun pass, he said, where people pay a set amount to ride all summer, possibly with some type of discount offered at a pool or other facility when a rider shows their bus pass.
Schildmeyer took the idea further, adding that transit could look at possible free zones, where a high traffic and shopping area is free to travel in. For example, she said, there could be a downtown free zone where a set distance on High Street is free to travel in.
Another idea, she said, is some type of day pass offered at a set amount for unlimited rides on that day. The idea of a day pass has been endorsed by the Public Transit Advisory Committee and staff is looking at ways to try a pilot program.
Mehmert said another possibility would be to work with Lincoln University and other area schools to have student IDs tie in to the transit system, meaning the ID would work as a bus pass in itself. That could be done by using the ID to charge a student account, as Mehmert suggested, or have the school pay a set amount to the transit fund to allow students free access, as Schildmeyer described.
But that ties in to another obstacle in gaining new riders - complexity.
Mehmert said the transit system and schedule can be difficult to understand and one of the things he's working on is how to best simplify everything to make it easier for people to use. He said many thousands of cities are now using Google transit, which allows transit considerations to be made in choosing route options when getting directions on Google.
"We need to find ways that we might be able to improve the service and make it simpler for people to get onto the bus and do their trip planning," Mehmert said.
In that vein, Mehmert said the system also needs to look at new ways of accepting bus fare, as many people no longer carry cash and choose instead to pay with credit cards, Apple Pay or Google Wallet. He said trying to find ways to accept those types of payments would make the system easier to use and more attractive to people.
"Those are just some ideas about how we might be able to make things less complex and more user friendly so that it becomes more of an option for people," Mehmert said.
But of course, the easiest way to increase service and expand hours, is to increase the system's funding, either through increased general revenue contributions or a dedicated tax of its own, something even supporters say is unlikely to happen any time soon.
Schildmeyer pointed to the city's Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department as an entity that has served the community and accomplished quite a bit through its own dedicated tax source, but she admitted it was more of a dream than a reality to have that happen in transit.
But, she said, there was a time when the city was served by a volunteer fire department and she compared the current transit system with the change to a professional fire department in the early 20th century.
"We're kind of at that same watershed moment with transportation," Schildmeyer said.