City staff plans to present possible changes to JeffTran in the coming months, including adding Saturday and weekday evening services and modifying fixed routes.
In October, contractor Lochmueller Group suggested extended JeffTran services, changed routes and Handi-Wheels recertification after analyzing the public transportation system earlier this year.
Jefferson City Transit Division Director Mark Mehmert told the city's Public Works Committee on Thursday that city staff began researching the feasibility of these suggestions and plans to make recommendations and proposals beginning in February.
Mehmert said one of the first things city staff will look into is a fare increase, presenting a proposal in February. Lochmueller Group suggested a 25-cent fare increase to help fund extended services.
The fare for fixed routes is $1, with the senior and disability fares at 50 cents. Lochmueller Group suggested the Handi-Wheels fare increase from $2 to $2.50.
Staff will investigate recertifying Handi-Wheels riders, Mehmert said. Lochmueller Group suggested the city recertify riders to decrease the amount going toward Handi-Wheels.
According to the Existing Conditions Report, 40 percent of JeffTran's total operating expenses goes toward Handi-Wheels. Handi-Wheels averages 215 rides a day, while Columbia - a city three times the size of Jefferson City - provides 250 rides, Mehmert said.
"We recognize that most trips made on Handi-Wheels are probably made by riders who satisfy the eligibility requirements under the ADA," the report said. "It also is clear that JeffTran's historically liberal eligibility policies have resulted in significant amounts of service provided to those who could use fixed route service."
Recertifying riders could reduce the number of Handi-Wheels rides by 20-30 percent, and those operating cost savings could help expand fixed-route services, the report notes.
Staff also will look into offering free fares to ADA-eligible riders who use fixed-route services instead of Handi-Wheels. Lochmueller Group said offering the free-fare ride could reduce Handi-Wheels ridership by 20 percent.
One of the most popular suggestions from Jefferson City residents is adding evening and Saturday services. Lochmueller Group suggested the High Street West, Business 50 East, Missouri Boulevard and Capital Mall routes run from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday
These routes were also suggested for extended weekday evening services, operating until about 8 p.m.
Staff will provide cost estimates on extended services in March, Mehmert said. The extended services would depend on the changes to Handi-Wheels and if those changes would support added services.
City staff will make recommendations for route changes in April. Lochmueller Group recommended the city modify five of the six fixed routes: High Street East, Business 50 East, Missouri Boulevard, Capital Mall and Southwest. High Street West would not change.
Lochmueller Group recommended removing service along the Business 50 East route on East McCarty Street between Cherokee Drive and Landwehr Hills Road, replacing it with a two-way on-call route on St. Louis Road.
It was recommended JeffTran remove service between Kansas Street and Broadway Street along the Missouri Boulevard route, adding two-way service on Broadway Street, Linden Drive, Myrtle Avenue and Kansas Street.
There were two recommendations for the Capital Mall route. One suggestion removed one-way service along Missouri 179 South, Missouri Boulevard, Stoneridge Parkway, Georgetown Road, Country Club Drive and Fairgrounds Road. The bus would turn around near Gerbes on Truman Boulevard to provide two-way travel.
The second option suggested eliminating services on Georgetown Road, Country Club Drive and Fairgrounds Road and making the current on-call route to St. Mary's Boulevard a permanent portion.
For the High Street East route, Lochmueller Group recommended two options. One would remove service east of Jefferson Street and provide two-way services, and the second would eliminate one-way service between Gerbes and Christy Drive near the YMCA and add two-way service on Christy Drive.
The group also had two suggestions for the Southwest route, eliminating sections on Southwest and St. Mary's boulevards and U.S. 54. One suggestion added two-way service where the bus would turn around near Schnucks on Missouri Boulevard and provide bi-directional travel. The second added a one-way trip to Walmart with bi-directional travel on Southwest Boulevard.
Mehmert said staff has to look into the feasibility of these changes and if the buses can make some of the suggested turns.
"It looks great on paper, but it's another thing when you start actually driving it and there are some turning points that can be difficult to navigate in a bus. So those things have to be put to practical tests, and you have to practically test what your travel times are going to be," he said. "We'll have to drive the routes with the buses during their selected times that are busiest and determine whether or not those proposals the consultant suggested are actually going to work."
Part of the added cost of the extended services include additional bus shelters along the new routes.
The city would hold public hearings for significant route changes.
In other business Thursday, Britt Smith, operation division director for the Department of Public Works, discussed a Martin Luther King Jr. memorial bench to go along the city's right-of-way near the Stadium Boulevard and Lafayette Street intersection.
Former Jefferson City Councilman Randy Halsey proposed the idea to Mayor Carrie Tergin and said he has been working toward a memorial for several years.
"Jefferson City is one of the few Capitol cities that has nothing Martin Luther King Jr., and I think that's a sad thing, especially with everything going on nowadays," Halsey said. "I've been waiting for this for about 30 years, and it's something that's well overdue."
Capitol Monuments will create and install the gray-granite bench.
Smith said Naught-Naught Insurance Agency and the Eastside Business Association donated toward the bench, and the cost is almost covered.