Topeka ? A drive to continue the state commuter van pool has stalled, but a Lawrence legislator said Monday he hoped to jump-start the proposal again.

“I remain committed to trying to preserve this program,” Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, said.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ Department of Administration has proposed eliminating the state-run van pool — a group of 20 large state vans that transport employees back and forth to Topeka from Lawrence, the Kansas City-area and other locations.

More than 270 employees, including about 100 from Lawrence, ride the vans. Most are state employees, but 30 aren’t and work for private companies in downtown Topeka.

The Sebelius administration has said the program wasn’t self-sufficient, opened the state to liability if there was an accident, and that the state shouldn’t be in the business of operating a “subsidized rental agency.”

The proposed elimination of the program, however, brought a storm of protest from riders and their legislative representatives.

Sloan and Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, filed a bill to keep the program going, but the House budget-writing committee rejected their idea Friday.

After the action, Sloan said he would try to get the measure approved by amending his bill onto another bill before the full House sometime during the session.

Employees who use the van pool have said the program benefits the environment and is good for worker morale.

Van-pool riders encourage legislators to keep program (2-19-04) Sebelius answers van-pool critics (1-22-04) Car pooling? (8-15-03) Car pooling has pluses, negatives, riders say (10-14-01) Frequently asked questions about Vanpool

They also said they would be willing to pay higher fees to make the program self-sufficient, which they had been told it was under the current fee structure of about 46 cents per mile.