A plan to seek joint proposals from prospective operators is another positive step toward combining the city and Kansas University public transit systems.

Lawrence city commissioners will be asked tonight to authorize city staff to issue a joint request for proposals to operate the city’s T and KU’s bus system beginning in January 2008. KU officials had specifically negotiated a contract that would end at the same time as the city’s contract to facilitate seeking a joint RFP.

The city’s public transit administrator is careful in his background memo to city commissioners to say that seeking a joint proposal is unlikely to reduce the city’s costs for operating the T. Rising costs for fuel, insurance, wages, maintenance and other expenses are expected to make it impossible for the city to maintain its current level of service for a comparable cost after the current contract runs out. The RFP will specifically ask for cost estimates on a reduced schedule of operation to lay out various options for commissioners.

Even though the city and KU may not see immediate cost reductions, it only makes sense in the long run to seek additional coordination between the two bus services. Operating two separate public transportation services in a town the size of Lawrence simply isn’t efficient.

The city may face some painful choices as it negotiates a new contract to operate the T. The bus system is a costly venture for the city, but it may become increasingly important if rising fuel prices prompt more people to take advantage of public transportation.

Whatever the future holds for public transportation, it seems that both KU and the city will benefit from working together to meet those needs. A full merger of the two bus systems may make sense in the future, but for now, a joint contract for the operation of the two systems is a step in the right direction.