StarTran services fare well
among regional bus systems
BUS from page 1 _
UNL students, who account for
nearly one-third of StarTran rides, have
ridden for See since 1994. Before that,
student riders paid $25 per month for
bus passes.
Not all buses are wheelchair-acces
sible, but route schedules indicate
when buses that can accommodate
wheelchairs arrive and depart
Buses run weekdays from 5:30
a.m. to 7 p.m. on most routes. Saturday
service is limited, and no buses run on
Sundays.
Lincoln’s city-operated bus service
offers riders more options than the ser
vice in Lawrence, Kan. - KU on
Wheels.
Nicole Skalla, transportation coor
dinator at the University of Kansas, said
the only buses that run in Lawrence are
supported by student riders.
KU’s student senate operates the
entire system.
Skalla, a KU student, said students
are charged $120 per year for a bus
pass. The main purpose of KU on
Wheels is to carry students to class.
Skalla said students relying on die
bus system to get around “will have
transportation to class, back to the resi
dence halls and to the library” without
any problems.
Skalla said a KU Safe Ride pro
gram gives students rides home
between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., hours
when KU on Wheels buses do not run.
Buses do not run on weekends or
during school breaks.
Skalla said KU on Wheels has no
buses that are compliant with the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
Although StarTran compares
favorably to KU on Wheels, Lincoln
riders do not have many of the options
available in Madison, Wis.
University of Wisconsin students
are issued Metro bus passes that entitle
them to free rides everywhere except 1
on campus. i
Student riders account for 40 per- i
cent of all rides on the system.
Madison’s population is approxi- i
mately equal to Lincoln’s, but the (
Metro system has more than five times i
the number of rides per year that
StarTran does. t
Julie Maryott-Walsh of Metro said 1
that Madison has one of the best bus S
services of a city its size.
“We probably provide more service j
and carry more riders than most sys- i
terns,” Maryott-Walsh said. t
Maryott-Walsh said riders general
ly had a good opinion of Madison s
Metro. £
“People who live downtown and on (
campus gave us the highest ratings,”
she said. 1
Madison Metro operates more than i
175 buses. StarTran has a fleetof 57
buses. £
CyRide of Ames, Iowa, offers ser
vices to students at a reduced fee. i
Iowa State University Students pay t
35 cents per ride for the service.
Tom Davenport of CyRide said the \
service was a joint venture between the l
City of Ames and ISU.
Davenport said the number of stu- 1
dent riders was dropping, but that stu
dents account for more than 85 percent (
of all rides. i
CyRide routes run citywide, and
buses are scheduled from 6 a.m. to 12
p.m. on weekdays.
A program that sets CyRide apart
from many bus systems, Davenport
said, is the Friday and Saturday
Moonlight Express service.
Moonlight Express buses are free
to students and run from 10 p.m. to 2
a.m.
“The original intent was to prevent
drinking and driving, but it has become
laiger than that," Davenpcttt &id.
He said many riders used the
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Moonlight Express buses as a quick
Jtemative to battling traffic and park
ng problems related to weekend plans.
This week’s StarTran survey asks
iders to grade StarTran on cleanliness,
omfort, accuracy of schedule and dri
er courtesy.
Although the results will not be
abulated until sometime next week,
JNL students seemed to be happy with
StarTran services.
“It’s a pretty good deal,” Ty Sander,
i sophomore diversified agriculture
najor, said. “You don’t have to fight
raffic or parking lots.”
Sander, who lives on East Campus,
aid he had a car but depended on bus
ervice for commuting to City
Jampus.
Audrey Jones, who also commutes
rom East Campus, had no complaints
bout the service.
“It gets me where I need to go,” the
ophomore psychology major said.
Sovereign said StarTran’s highest
narks last year were for driver cour
esy.
The main area of complaint in past
'ears has been commuter shelters at
>us stops, Sovereign said.
“Maintenance of shelters has rated
owest for years,” she said.
Maintenance was hard to keep up
►n, Sovereign said, because of weather
elated damage.
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Senators table cigarette
tax debate until May
SMOKES from page lv
Lombardi said Monday’s vote to
delay was a strategic move. Mid-May is
a key time for the Legislature, because
that’s when lawmakers make many tax
and spending decisions.
Lombardi is supporting the bill
because he believes an increase in the
cost for a pack of smokes reduces the
number of smokers.
Lombardi said a 10 percent
increase in price, about 30 cents, would
result in a 7 to 15 percent reduction in
teen smoking and a 4 percent reduction
in adult smoking.
“It’s the No. 1 health problem fac
ing all Nebraskans,” Lombardi said.
But tobacco lobbyists have said the
bill could cost Nebraska valuable tax
revenue or create a black market for
cigarettes in die state.
Bill Peters, a lobbyist with Brown
and Williamson Tobacco Company and
Lorillard, said Nebraska has the sec
ond-highest cigarette tax among its
neighbors, making a black market a
possibility.
“It has occurred a number of other
places where there’s a strong disparity,”
Peters said referring testates such as
Michigan.
Lombardi doesn’t believe that a
black market in cigarettes would appear
in Nebraska if the tax increases. He saw
that threat as a scare tactic used on the
public.
“It’s a total distraction,” Lombardi
said
If a black market does not take
potential tax revenue from the state,
Nebraskans may buy their cigarettes
out of state, Peters said. But don’t
expect mad dashes for Wyoming,
where the cigarette tax is 12 cents a
pack.
“I think people aren’t necessarily
driving just to buy cigarettes, but if you
are on business, you’re going to buy the
cheaper gas when you’re there,” Peters
said
“And if you’re inclined to smoke,
you’re probably going to buy your
favorite brand, if you can save a couple
dollars.”
An estimated $75 million could be
generated from the tax the first year.
The bill would also create the Tobacco
Prevention, Control and Enforcement
Fund to conduct anti-smoking pro
grams.
Both lobbyists said they were
encouraged by the delay of the vote.
Peters said any delay was good, because
it meant senators were not debating the
bill for passage.
Lombardi said the fact that senators
were still considering double-digit cig
arette tax increases gave him hope.
! “Now we’re talking in terms of 20
Cents) and 30 (cents) and 60 (cents),
because I think people are recognizing
the fact that this is an effective way to
reduce teen smoking.”
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