It’s no secret how many Lawrence residents travel to Topeka each day to work. Van pools operated by the state between the two cities obviously are a great convenience for state employees from Lawrence.

But, after years of operation, the van pools are falling victim to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ search for small economies to trim the state budget. The governor announced last week that the program would be phased out as each van reached 95,000 miles.

Many participants in the pools believed the system was self-sufficient; state figures show the 46 cents per mile paid by people riding in the vans raised $151,240 during fiscal year 2003. But the total expense to operate the van pools, including capital costs and the purchase of vans, was $205,268.

The governor may have sounded a bit hard-hearted when she advised van-riders to “buy a car,” but it really isn’t the state’s responsibility to subsidize employee’s transportation to work. The van pools were started with good intentions to lessen the demand on parking as well as benefit the environment and riders’ pocketbooks, but carpooling, as the governor notes, serves the same purpose at no cost to the state.

If the 271 riders who participate in this program would be willing to pay higher fees to cover the full cost of their transportation, perhaps the state would reconsider. Or, if the demand exists, perhaps a private entrepreneur will pick up the service.

This program isn’t a state responsibility, but it does raise questions about the possible need for more public transportation in our state.