Columbia City Council approved placing revised posters in transit buses to inform students of possible changes to the Black and Gold Route beginning next fall at its meeting Monday night.
Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe proposed the language of the posters, which will inform students that beginning next fall apartment complexes along the Black and Gold Route will only receive services if they agree to the city’s revised contract. Service could also be provided to a complex if enough students bought semester passes to make service financially feasible for the city.
The city is working on a contract that will ensure the city no longer operates at a loss in providing the route for students. They plan to propose a contract in approximately a month.
The posters also inform students that some complexes are choosing to provide private service. They also encourage students to check with their apartments on their plans for bus services next fall.
“This puts the students on notice, tells them what the options are, and tells them to go to their apartments and get information before they sign contracts,” Hoppe said.
Mayor Bob McDavid raised concerns about putting posters up before the city has finalized a strategy for next year.
“We as an organization intend to sit down and define how we are going to run this system next year and we don’t know that yet,” McDavid said.
He said other possibilities could still arise, so the current situation shouldn’t be construed as a ‘take it or leave it’ situation.
“A discussion has begun that tells the students they are the customers and we will offer what they want,” McDavid said. “We welcome and encourage their input, and we want this system to be bigger and more successful than it is right now.”
Earlier in the meeting, Sam Robinson, director of health and community initiatives for Ped-Net, began the meeting by offering some comments on two community conversations regarding transit in the last month.
The two conversations occurred in the Sixth Ward with Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe and in the First Ward with Councilman Fred Schmidt.
Robinson said a wide variety of individuals attended each event and many groups’ concerns were heard.
He said in the meetings participants were asked three questions: where they envision Columbia transit in five years, what the challenges are to achieving that vision and what tangible steps can be taken currently and in the future to overcome those challenges.
After ideas were proposed through a group discussion, individuals voted on what they feel should be the priorities in the quest to improve transit.
Popular ideas in regard to a vision for the future were increased frequency of services, multiple route transfer points and a collaborative effort between the city, MU and the Columbia Public Schools.
Challenges to achieving those goals include funding and changing the current negative perception of transit.
Individuals cited educating people about transit and working to create a culture of transit to reverse the negative perception it currently holds.
The council also approved the first phase of an improvement project for Forum Boulevard.
The first phase will consist of adding left turn lanes on Forum Boulevard into the MKT Nature and Fitness Trail driveway and the Victoria Park driveway.
The lane additions will cost $200,000 and are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
Phase two of this project includes widening Forum Boulevard to four lanes.