City of Lawrence
Public Transit Advisory Committee
July 10, 2007 minutes
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MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Chair Marian Hukle, Marc Epard, Ann Foster, James Dermody, David Dunfield |
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MEMBERS ABSENT: |
Darlene Mortell, Richard Heckler, Martin Miller |
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STAFF PRESENT: |
Cliff Galante, Wendy Koerner, Emily Lubliner, Mike Sweeten |
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PUBLIC PRESENT: |
May Davis, Jessica Mortinger, Danny Kaiser |
1. Call to Order
Committee Chair Marian Hukle called the meeting to order at 4:10 p.m.
2. Public Comment
None Provided
3. Agenda Review
No changes were made to the agenda.
4. Approval of Minutes for March Special Meeting, April PTAC Meeting, April Public Hearing & May Special Meeting
David Dunfield moved to approve all minutes as submitted; Marc Epard seconded. All minutes were approved.
5. Consider Proposed Changes to University of Kansas Student Discount Fare Program and Approve Recommendation to City
PTA explained the current discounted fare program the Lawrence Transit System offers to KU on Wheels bus pass holders. The contract for this program expires on August 14, 2007. PTA said the committee needs to decide if they would like to continue the program for another year, and how much should be charged for the T stickers. The current price is $25.00 for the school year, $15.00 for a semester, and $10.00 for the summer session. Marian said the subcommittee has discussed the issue and felt that all students in the city should be treated the same. The committee proposed that KU students with a valid KU ID card should be offered the same reduced fare offered to students K-12 and Haskell Indian Nations University students, and that the deeply discounted T sticker should be eliminated.
Chair Marian Hukle opened public comment and Jessica Mortinger suggested we increase the cost of the T sticker rather than eliminating the program altogether. She felt taking away the T sticker option for those students who have already made a commitment to mass transportation would be a step in the wrong direction, in regards to coordinating both systems.
PTA argued the T sticker has not achieved the desired participation as approximately 300 students, out of 27,000 total students, take advantage of the deal. T sticker sales only bring in approximately $7,500 per year, based on current participation. PTA said the majority of university communities use “Universal Access Systems” where all students pay an annual fee to support transportation, regardless if they use the transportation or not. For example, a $20 fee would generate $540,000, for a student base of 27,000. PTA feels this is what we should be working towards in our coordination efforts as it would provide additional funding for service improvements. He said that by continuing to offer such deeply discounted fare programs to the university, there is little incentive for the university to work towards this goal.
Jessica suggested increasing the T sticker cost to $50 per semester, or $100 per year. The committee felt this was a more appropriate amount and decided to continue to offer the T sticker at the pricing suggested by Jessica.
After considerable discussion, Marc Epard moved to continue the T sticker program for the 2007/2008 school year at $50 per semester, $20 for a summer pass, to those KU students who purchase a KU on Wheels pass. He also moved to offer the reduced fare for students with a valid KU student ID card. David Dunfield seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
6. Public Comment
No additional public comment was provided.
7. Tentative Next Meeting Date: Tuesday, August 14, 2007
8. Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 4:53 p.m.
Submitted by Wendy Koerner. Approved by PTAC 08/14/07.