Kansas University and city officials are putting their heads together to find ways to integrate their two bus systems.

Officials said Tuesday that a merger is unlikely in the short term  KU Student Senate just renewed its contract with Lawrence Transit System to provide campus service through 2005  but other cooperation is feasible.

“We’ve talked that it would be good to have some baby steps, some successes, and build to bigger efforts,” said Karin Rexroad, the city’s public transit administrator.

Some possible ‘baby steps’:

l Eliminate duplication in areas served by both systems. Rexroad said KU and the city both provide some service to South Iowa Street, West Sixth Street and east Lawrence between 19th and 23rd streets.

“We don’t have exactly the same routes, but we cross each other,” she said.

l Allowing the use of KU bus passes on the city buses. But that might require an increase in student fees. Every KU student is assessed $16 a semester to support the campus transportation system.

“Tuition’s probably going to go up 40 to 50 percent next year,” said Mike Appleby, the coordinator for KU on Wheels. “So we’re not comfortable with any large rate increases.”

Another potential hitch: Many of KU’s buses were built before the Americans with Disabilities Act became law. That’s not a problem now, because KU technically has a private system run and paid for by the students. But if any public money (including the state and federal tax dollars that supplement the system) were to flow to KU on Wheels, expensive upgrades would be required.

“KU on Wheels cannot put itself into a position where it would be required to do that,” said Danny Kaiser, director of KU’s Organizations and Leadership Center and a member of the Public Transit Advisory Committee.

Rexroad said officials will avoid that circumstance.

“We are not advocating that our passengers use KU’s system,” she said. “We’re advocating that students use us to connect with the wider town.”