Cape Girardeau / Missouri / United States
After years of ineffective and uncoordinated transit service in Cape Girardeau County, the Cape Girardeau County Commission, on June 15, 2000, unanimously agreed to pass Resolution 00-06, effectively authorizing the formation of the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority (CGCTA). The County Commission, which acted pursuant to Missouri Revised Statue 238.400, which states, "Any county of the first class may, by ordinance or order of the county governing body, establish a county transit authority."
The primary reason the County Commission initiated a transit system was to increase county residents' access to health care, social services, and general life needs. The Transit Authority was also established to assist in coordinating and expanding the existing transportation services and to assist with pursuing additional State and Federal funds. Prior to the formation of the Transit Authority, countywide transit had long been a problem issue for the residents of Cape Girardeau County.
The CGCTA is governed by a board of directors, known as the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority Board. The County Commission appoints five county residents to be on the board. For approximately two years, the CGCTA was merely a board in function alone, with no employees or vehicles.
In 2000, the decision was made to merge the CGCTA with the Cape County Transit Inc, thus effectively creating the beginning of a full-fledged countywide transit system. The Cape County Transit Inc had been providing quality transit services to the citizens of Cape Girardeau County for over ten years prior to the merger.
The CGCTA gained tangible items such as vehicles and equipment from the Cape County Transit Inc. Additionally, it gained the credibility and the respected service of its employees.
In 2006, the Cape Girardeau County Transit Authority purchased Kelley Transportation Inc. The move effectively enabled the transit authority to create a seamlessly coordinated countywide transit system.
