Faced with a possible student fee for transportation and changes in public bus routes and schedules, MU has hired the Solstice Transportation Group to help solve transit issues.
Solstice Transportation President Mitch Skyer said the operation will focus on the challenges facing students using public transportation and will provide specific solutions.
“Every option is open for transportation,” he said, speaking to the Missouri Students Association Senate.
Skyer said Solstice started working Tuesday, meeting with several MU organizations and institutions. They’ve met with the athletics senior administration, City of Columbia transit, apartment managers, the Graduate Professional Council and others.
According to the Solstice website, the group has helped Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama, the University of West Georgia and Princeton University develop transportation systems.
MSA President Xavier Billingsley said he is interested to see what Solstice will come up with for MU.
“I’m excited to see what they have to say because they’re talking to everybody,” he said.
Billingsley said Solstice Transportation assistant director Mike Sokoff has already said the transit fees proposed by Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid are not acceptable.
[According to a previous Maneater article]( https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2012/1/27/mu-begin-biggest-transit-change-school-history/), the city proposed an $80 per semester fee for MU students. The city is severely cutting the transportation budget, ending services to apartments on Old Highway 63.
“That (plan) is pretty much out of the question,” Billingsley said.
He said MU is looking into working with the City of Columbia to see if the city can offer a better deal.
Skyer said he hopes to have a transit plan for MU by the end of the semester.