A bus service that would take commuters back and forth between Lawrence and Kansas City is still being studied by the Lawrence Transit System.

Cliff Galante, the administrator for the city’s transit system, said he hoped to commission a survey this year that would measure how many people would be interested in a potential commuter bus service, and what locations they are traveling to.

“We’re encouraged by what we’ve heard,” Galante said. “But we just need to find out more information. If we’re going to have a bus that holds 50 people, we need to have 50 people who basically are going to the same place, or else it may make sense to use a number of smaller vans.”

The state uses a van system to transport state employees from several cities into Topeka. Abe Rezayazdi, one of the coordinators and drivers for the state system, said interest in the service had increased, but ridership remained at about 250 people per day.

Galante said he hoped that the city’s survey would show enough interest in the idea to garner funding support from the Kansas Department of Transportation.

KDOT leaders have said they were interested in exploring the idea of a commuter bus service between Lawrence and Kansas City.