The buses are coming back to Starkville.
Mass transit, vanishing research dollars and record enrollment were all on Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum”s mind Friday during his quarterly roundtable meeting on campus with Starkville and Oktibbeha government types. Members of MSU”s faculty are currently working on a proposal which would return buses to the streets of Starkville for the first time in five years.
“It”s in the early stages. Right now we”re making sure the community knows what we”re getting into,” said Keenum.
A meeting is tentatively scheduled for June between MSU and Starkville reps and the Mississippi Department of Transportation. If all goes well, Starkville could see MSU shuttle buses running routes through the city later this year.
Mike Harris, director of parking operations for MSU and one of the point men on the transit project, said the difference between this system and the last busing experiment will be order. The last system utilized a free flag-and-ride method where individuals could hail buses like cabs and, similarly, get off at any point along the route. The proposed plan will include bus stops, strict routes and schedules and a fare structure to fund the program.
Harris said no specifics have been established, but threw out 50 cents as an example of what it might cost to ride the bus. It”s likely MSU students will ride free with a valid ID and weekly and monthly passes will be available for purchase.
To be eligible for public transport grants, the city must first be part of a regional transit authority. Harris said the city is considering joining the Meridian Transit Authority. Furthermore, a point system exists to determine the extent of grant eligibility, so the buses will run to point-value areas of the city such as the hospital, court houses, the electric department, housing authority properties and high density residential areas in addition to the expected shopping centers and recreation areas.
Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman praised the plan as a vital public service to citizens who are without access to transportation. He said the system would also keep more cars off the street, which would ease traffic congestion and benefit the environment.
MSU currently has 17 shuttles in its fleet and plans to add three more.
Transportation grants are only part of the funding MSU will look to secure this year as it struggles with a federal moratorium on congressionally directed funding, or earmarks, used to fund research . MSU received $60 million in congressionally directed funds last year.
“That”s a key portion of our funding that”s not going to be available,” said Keenum. “But I feel confident we can compete for private funds. We are a very strong research university.”
MSU will begin preparing proposals to compete for research dollars doled out by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services and others.
However, Keenum said there”s a proposal in the House of Representatives which would cut even the competitive funds across the board by $7 billion, leaving researchers nowhere to turn for funding. The situation is so alarming he and the chancellor of the University of Mississippi and the president of the University of Southern Mississippi made a trip to Washington D.C. earlier this week to discuss the bill with the Mississippi delegation.
“That would have a major impact on universities all across the nation. That was part of our message in Washington this week to the congressional delegation. They need to give the U.S. a competitive advantage and not slow down the national momentum in cutting-edge technology and medicine and science,” said Keenum.
On a cheerful note, Keenum told the city and county officials he expects MSU to exceed its record enrollment of 19,644 students this past fall with more than 20,000 students this coming fall.
“The projections based on applications and early admits are above this time last year. It could be 600 to 1,000 more students,” he said.
Keenum pointed out that 80 percent of incoming freshmen at MSU are Mississippians, which bodes well for raising the state”s traditionally low number of college-educated adults.
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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