As Columbia seeks to improve its public transit system, one option that city leaders are talking about is possibly adding a daily bus route to Ashland, Columbia Regional Airport and Jefferson City.
The idea was one of several kicked around Tuesday during a City Council transit workshop.
“I have gotten a number of people contacting me with interest in a regional route between us and Jefferson City,” Councilperson Valerie Carroll said.
The estimated annual operating cost would be about $600,000 for six daily round trips on weekdays, according to a comprehensive transit study presented to the council during the meeting. The route presented would go from Wabash Station in Columbia to Columbia Regional Airport, an unidentified stop in Ashland and four stops in Jefferson City.
The Jefferson City stops would include its airport, Harry S. Truman State Office Building, Miller Street Station and the Greyhound Station.
Officials from Ashland and Jefferson City didn’t return calls seeking comment.
Some federal funding for rural transit services could be available to offset some of the costs, according to a consultant who presented the transit plan to the council. The federal Formula Grants for Rural Areas program typically aims to improve transit access for communities with fewer than 50,000 residents.
Council members and other city leaders also discussed plans to improve transit within city limits. A key goal is to get service back to where it was before the city cut services in 2023. The comprehensive transit study outlined how those improvements would be made over the next two years.
After that, transit service would gradually be expanded in four more tiers, which likely would unfold over a period of up to 20 years. Overall, the improvements would include transit coverage to more sectors of the city and expanded hours of operation on weekdays and weekends.
City leaders also discussed their relationship with the University of Missouri, which provided funding for campus parking shuttles for employees and students. Some council members also wondered if the city has had talks with Mizzou about its new employment centers operating in other areas of the city, such as the new reactor being built in the Discovery Ridge area of town. Public Works Director Shane Creech said more information about the city’s long-term options will be presented during a “State of Transit” presentation to the council sometime in the next few months.
