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Busing in Lawrence

Students may ride T to class, avoid 'Pay-to-Ride' costs
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Rick Gammill says allowing school students to ride Lawrence Transit System buses for half price is a great idea -- even if it means fewer students riding school buses in the 2004-2005 academic year.

Bus system at crossroads
Monday, April 5, 2004
Jared Fire uses the T every weekday, riding the city bus between Haskell Indian Nations University, where he is a student, and Kansas University, where he does undergraduate research. He can't imagine trying to get his degree without the bus.

Swimmers to get reduced bus prices to pools; fall fares up in the air
Friday, February 20, 2004
Riding the bus to the pool will be less expensive this summer. But whether Lawrence youngsters get a lower-priced ride to school in the fall remains to be seen.

6News video: The 'T' may bring children to schools
Saturday, January 24, 2004
Public schools have a demand for transportation, and Lawrence Public Transit want to fill the need.

City marks 3rd anniversary of public transit system
Wednesday, December 17, 2003
Before the T got rolling three years ago this week, Eileene Miller once walked from North Lawrence to Wal-Mart, at the city's southern tip. She doesn't have to do that anymore.

T riders on the rise
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Ridership on city buses is averaging more than 1,000 riders a day for the first time in the nearly three-year history of the T. Karin Rexroad, the city's transit director, said Tuesday the T averaged 1,031 riders per weekday through the first half of September.

6News video: T passes passenger milestone
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
KU students are among those who have helped increase the number of riders on the city's bus system.

T officials hope to increase ridership with wider use by KU students
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Jeff Bremer loves the bus. The Kansas University graduate student said he chose his apartment because it sits on the route for the KU on Wheels bus system. He plans his days around the route schedules.

6News video: The T turns two
Tuesday, December 17, 2002
6News reports on the Lawrence Transit System's two-year anniversary.

Two injured when car and city bus collide
Thursday, December 12, 2002
(Updated Thursday at 4:09 p.m.) Two people were injured Thursday afternoon in a collision involving a Lawrence city transit bus and a passenger car near the intersection of Fifth and Michigan streets.

6News video report: Bus employees say 'Yes' to union
Saturday, September 21, 2002
6News reports on the Lawrence bus drivers' vote to unionize.

City bus workers vote to unionize
Saturday, September 21, 2002
Workers for the private company that runs the city's bus system voted Friday to unionize. Employees of MV Transportation voted 27-11 to join the Amalgamated Transit Union. Approval came one year after a similar effort failed on a tie.

City bus workers vote to unionize
Friday, September 20, 2002
(Web Posted Friday at 3:27 p.m.) MV Transportation workers, who run Lawrence's city buses, on Friday voted 27-11 to unionize.

T passes at the Merc
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
The city has started selling bus passes at the Community Mercantile, 901 Iowa. Karin Rexroad, city transit administrator, said the store has longer hours than City Hall, making it easier for some riders to purchase the passes.

Bus workers try again for union
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
A year after a failed first attempt, workers at the private company that runs the city bus system are trying to form a union. An official with the National Labor Relations Board said Monday a vote to approve or reject a union at MV Transportation Inc. will be Sept. 20.

Public offers opinions to assist area transportation planning
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
More emphasis needs to be placed on improving pedestrian walkways and public transit in Lawrence, city officials were told during a public meeting Monday night.
"I didn't hear anybody there speaking up for more and wider roads," said Bea Dewing, one of about 20 people who attended the meeting at East Lawrence Recreation Center, 1245 E. 15th St.

Bus shelters suit passengers to a 'T'
Thursday, August 15, 2002
The days of flagging down a city bus from anywhere along its route may be numbered.
New bus shelters popping up around the city are the first step toward setting up a more structured system of stops for the system, whose ridership continues to increase.

Pay-to-ride busing presses parent to start petition for a safer 31st Street
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
By Mindie Paget

Betty Ray wouldn't be caught dead riding a bicycle or walking on 31st Street. And she certainly doesn't want her 14-year-old son getting to school that way, either. But because of a Lawrence school district decision to tighten the list of those who qualify for free bus rides, that's what's going to happen.

City warns drivers to beware of children near buses
Friday, June 14, 2002
By Joel Mathis

When Gaynell Jessepe takes her kids on the T, she tells them to stay close to her.
They sometimes have other ideas. Like earlier this week, when a city bus dropped off Jessepe, son Levi and daughter Lillian near their North Lawrence home.

Bus system gets good review
Friday, May 31, 2002
By Joel Mathis

The city's bus system got a clean bill of health Thursday from federal transit regulators in town for a two-day triennial review.
The two federal auditors wouldn't make themselves available to comment about their findings, but city officials said after a Thursday morning interview that things had gone well.

Plan would link KU on Wheels, city buses
Thursday, May 16, 2002
By Alison Mann

Kansas University students may get two bus services for the price of one. And the Lawrence Public Transit system may increase ridership, and thus federal funding, if the city and KU on Wheels agree to partner up.

Shelters for bus riders to be built this summer
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
By Joel Mathis

Shelters for riders waiting for the T could start popping up around Lawrence by midsummer, officials said Tuesday. Karin Rexroad, the city's transit administrator, told the Public Transit Advisory Committee that site plans for 15 new bus shelters are nearly finished.

T to undergo federal review
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
The city's bus system will undergo a standard federal review next month, Transit Administrator Karin Rexroad said Tuesday. The Federal Transit Administration partially funds the T and does a top-to-bottom review every three years of agencies that receive the money.

District seeks input on pay-to-ride busing
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
By Tim Carpenter

It's the turn of parents of 10,000 Lawrence public school children to drive the debate about the proposed pay-to-ride bus system. One-page surveys on possible changes to the district's bus operation were distributed to parents last week by mail or sent home with students. The district requested surveys be returned to respective schools by today.

Busing options
Monday, February 4, 2002
J-W Editorials

Charging a fee for school bus transportation may be one of the easier budget-cutting measures Lawrence school board members will have to consider.
It's disappointing that the city and school district apparently won't be able to work together formally to reduce the cost of transporting local children to school. However, an informal arrangement that allows more children and parents to take advantage of the city T system still seems to be a possibility.

6News video report: The T celebrates first anniversary
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Alison Mann reports on Lawrence's public transportation system, the T, and its first year in service.

City optimistic about bus system's 1st year
Monday, December 17, 2001
By Joel Mathis

Barbara Dowdell would have a harder time working if the T didn't exist.
The Lawrence woman doesn't have a car. So she takes the city bus to her job as an assisted health-care provider — and to the clients around town she visits.

Bus drivers split on unionizing effort
Thursday, August 9, 2001
By Chad Lawhorn

A Wednesday vote on unionization by Lawrence bus workers ended in a tie, and a challenge that likely won't be resolved for at least a month or two. Workers for MV Transportation, the private company hired by the city to run the T, were evenly split on joining the Amalgamated Transit Union for collective bargaining.

6News report: 'T' union still in the air
Thursday, August 9, 2001
Janet Reid reports on Wednesdays vote to unionize the Lawerence T drivers. The vote was tied 15-15.

Grievance filed for fired driver
Tuesday, August 7, 2001
By Tim Carpenter

A grievance filed on behalf of a fired Lawrence bus driver alleges MV Transportation tried to coerce workers into abandoning union-organizing efforts.
Quentin Grandstaff was fired Monday afternoon, a representative of the Amalgamated Transit Union said.

Pro-union driver faces firing
Friday, August 3, 2001
By Joel Mathis

Less than a week before city bus workers vote whether to unionize, one of the vote's organizers says he is being fired because of his pro-union efforts.
"I knew I had a bull's-eye on my back," Quentin Grandstaff, a bus driver, told the Journal-World Thursday.

Public drives new bus routes
Saturday, July 21, 2001
By Joel Mathis

Changes to Lawrence's bus routes include increased access to shopping on South Iowa Street. Karin Rexroad, the city's public transit administrator, unveiled the route changes Friday. Maps of the new routes should be available to the public by Wednesday; the actual route changes will take effect Aug. 6.

T workers to vote on joining union
Wednesday, July 11, 2001
By Joel Mathis

Lawrence bus system workers will vote next month to decide whether to join the nation's largest transit union. Sam McReynolds, a driver for the T, said employees are tired of low wages and strict benefits standards. Drivers, he said, must work a six-day week to qualify as full-time and eligible for health benefits.

Bus transfer station moving across Mass.
Wednesday, June 27, 2001
By Joel Mathis

The bus transfer station at Ninth and Massachusetts streets won't move so far after all. Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday approved moving the stop at the intersection's southwest corner, at Weaver's Department Store, across Massachusetts Street to the southeast corner near Firstar Bank. Buses stopping at the northwest corner of the intersection will continue to do so.

Weaver's wins back parking
Wednesday, June 13, 2001
By Joel Mathis

Weaver's will get its parking back. Lawrence city commissioners decided Tuesday night to shift a transfer station for the city bus system away from the department store's north side at Ninth and Massachusetts streets.

Department store taking case to move bus stop to City Hall
Saturday, June 9, 2001
By Joel Mathis

Weaver's is tired of the T. Officials of Weaver's Department Store, 901 Mass., have been arguing for months that the city bus system's transfer station on the store's north side is hogging valuable parking spaces and hurting sales.

Bus route changes for 'T' up for discussion
Sunday, April 22, 2001
By Terry Rombeck

Only five people told Public Transportation Advisory Committee members what they thought about the proposed changes to the Lawrence Transit bus routes during a public hearing Saturday at the Union Pacific Depot.

Vandals damage senior citizens' buses
Tuesday, April 17, 2001
By Kevin Bates

Vandalism to two Douglas County Senior Services buses could dampen the agency's ability to transport area senior citizens, officials say.
DCSS director Jessie Ann Lusher said two broken windows and a damaged wheelchair lift have put two buses — 40 percent of the entire fleet for the county — out of commission.

Senior Services going places
Thursday, April 5, 2001
By Joel Mathis

The city's new bus system will allow Douglas County Senior Services to create more transportation options for senior citizens in rural Douglas County. Jessie Ann Lusher, director of DCSS, said Wednesday that her agency will begin this fall to offer expanded transportation services to residents in Baldwin, Eudora and Lecompton. "I think the city system is giving us a chance to actually improve our services," she said at a meeting of the Older Women's League.

Weaver's wants bus stop change
Wednesday, March 21, 2001
By Janet Reid

A Lawrence Transit Authority transfer station outside Weaver's Department Store, 901 Mass., is disrupting business, a store official told transit officials Tuesday. Joe Flannery, president of the downtown anchor, asked members of Law-rence's Public Transit Advisory Committee to consider moving the transfer station a few blocks east.

Bus ridership on the rise
Thursday, March 15, 2001
By Joel Mathis

Three months after the first bus got rolling, ridership on the city's new transit system continues to grow. The number of bus riders has risen from an average of 193 a day during December to 424 in March, with more than 26,000 rides given during the first quarter of operation.

Briefly
Wednesday, February 7, 2001
•Peltier supporters plan campaign of information
•Ticket books now available for rides on Lawrence buses
•Salvation Army seeks block grant funds for shelter

Lawrence city commission briefs
Wednesday, January 24, 2001
• Construction projects win approval
• Bus company reimbursed by city
• Downtown guidelines to undergo review

Briefly
Wednesday, January 17, 2001
• Ridership on 'T' buses increases in early January
• Lawrence district continues investigation of porn report
• Hospital to celebrate 80th birthday today
• Senator from Lawrence to speak at trustee meeting

Area briefs
Wednesday, January 10, 2001
• Injuries to baby draw police attention
• McManaman trial continued until March
•  Housekeeping duties on tap at county meeting
•  Senator to discuss agriculture, business
•  Bus officials making changes to routes

Bus usage on upswing, city commission told
Wednesday, January 3, 2001
By Joel Mathis

More than 2,300 people traveled on the new Lawrence bus system during its first 12 days, city officials said Tuesday night. Lawrence city commissioners received a report showing that ridership rose from a low of 68 people on Dec. 16, the first day, to a high of 320 on Dec. 28.

Readers' choice fits to a 'T,' edges out Roy
Monday, January 1, 2001
J-W Staff Reports

Something that finally got going late in 2000 edged out a guy who decided to stay put as the top Lawrence-area story of the year in voting by Journal-World readers and 6News viewers.

Top stories of 2000
Monday, January 1, 2001

Bus system's start 'solid,' though riders lacking
Tuesday, December 26, 2000
By Joel Mathis

City transit officials say the new bus system is off to a solid start, but they acknowledge there are still some growing pains for the 10-day-old "T."
Mike Sweeten, division manager for MV Transportation, said that — through Dec. 19, the most recent day numbers were available prior to the holiday — the system was averaging 140 riders a day.

City extends signup deadline for bus riders with disabilities
Thursday, December 14, 2000
By Joel Mathis

Officials with the city's new bus system have decided to give residents with disabilities two extra weeks to apply for door-to-door transportation. "We were concerned the message hadn't reached enough individuals," said Mike Sweeten, division manager for MV Transportation.

Transit recommendations OK'd
Wednesday, October 25, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood

When Lawrence Transit System begins service around the end of this year, passengers will change buses at Ninth and Massachusetts streets and there will be no advertisements on the buses' inside or out.

Transfer station location familiar
Wednesday, October 18, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood

Members of the Lawrence Public Transit Advisory Committee say the bus stop for KU on Wheels on Ninth Street just west of Massachusetts Street is the best place to have a city bus transfer station.

City agrees to leasing to get buses rolling
Wednesday, September 27, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood

Bus wheels for the proposed Lawrence Transit System could be rolling by March after Lawrence city commissioners agreed Tuesday to lease vehicles until the city's own buses are delivered.

Decision warms up buses
Friday, September 22, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood

A decision by the Federal Transit Authority keeps Lawrence's drive for a public bus system in gear and may put plans for bus service in overdrive. City Manager Mike Wildgen received a letter Thursday from the FTA's Washington, D.C., upholding the city's choice of MV Transportation to manage the Lawrence Transit System.

FTA gives city OK to hire bus firm
Wednesday, July 26, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood
Journal-World Writer

A Lawrence Bus Co. complaint is rejected by the Federal Transit Administration, allowing the city to hire another company to manage the planned bus system.

City places order for transit system's buses
Tuesday, July 18, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood
Journal-World Writer

The buses have been ordered. Now comes the wait. ElDorado National officials project it will be 12 to 18 months before all the buses for the Lawrence Transit System can be delivered.

Rejected bus provider airs concerns
Friday, July 14, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood
Journal-World Writer

Blue Bird Corp. officials are questioning the way the city rated their company in the process to select a bus provider for the planned Lawrence Transit System.

City eyes new bus provider
Saturday, July 8, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood
Journal-World Writer

After choosing Blue Bird Corp. twice, a city advisory group now wants El Dorado National to provide buses for the proposed citywide bus service. The recommendation will be presented to Lawrence city commissioners at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday at city hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.

Lawrence Bus Co. asks FTA to look at complaint
Friday, June 30, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood
Journal-World Writer

The owner of the Lawrence Bus Co. said he will ask for federal review of his complaint about the bidding process for city bus service.

City rejects area firm's bus appeal
Wednesday, June 28, 2000
By Kendrick Blackwood
Journal-World Writer

Round Two ended no differently than Round One for Lawrence Bus Co. and its efforts to land a contract to manage the planned citywide bus system.