Bus schedules stopped in 1966
North Lawrence without service
By DAN OSBORNE Kansan Staff Writer
Except for a 25-day trial run in 1967, the 2,094 residents of the low-income area of North Lawrence have been without bus service since August, 1966.
Duane Ogle, manager of the Lawrence Bus Co., said the North Lawrence route yielded substantial returns prior to the 1951 flood but had failed to do so since then.
Ogle said that in August, 1966 the City relieved him of the route because of its failure to yield sufficient profit. In December, 1967, after pressure from concerned residents, the Lawrence Bus Co. and the city of Lawrence agreed to a trial bus route for North Lawrence. The residents were promised a 90-day trial but the route was suspended after 25 days.
The East and North Lawrence areas were combined for the trial run and were serviced by a 1959 passenger car which Ogle leased from his father-in-law. Ogle said the car serviced the areas every half-hour and ran 11 hours a day.
Ogle said the basic cost for the trial run totaled $616.53 and total revenue was $144.25. It was because of these figures that the city relieved the company of the route after 25 days, he said.
Many North Lawrence residents, however, are not satisfied with the results of the trial run. A North Lawrence resident, Mrs. Arthur Johnson, cited an instance when the bus driver failed to stop for her during the trial run.
"He came down the middle of the street without even glancing at the bus stop." she said.
Mrs. Frances Donner, also a North Lawrence resident, said during the trial run a taxi cab would often trail the bus. She
identified the driver of the cab as a former bus driver.
John Taylor, president of the North Lawrence Improvement Association, said, "Taxis are robbing us blind."
"It costs me $1.15 each way for a taxi to the First National Bank," he said, "and the driver always tries to make the route longer."
Another argument voiced by North Lawrence residents is that they did not need the bus service every half-hour. They argue that having the service that often only served to increase costs during the trial run.
High school students also suffer from the lack of public transportation. Although junior high school students in North Lawrence are bussed to South Junior High School by the local school district, nearly 80 high school students living in the area have no public transportation to school.
Taylor said many of the students used their parents' cars to get to school but that this often created a hardship for parents who need transportation to work.
Taylor said Ogle would agree to transport high school students only if he could guarantee 80 passengers a day. He said they would be charged a 50c fare each way. KU students are only charged a 15c fare.
Taylor said only two of the five board of education members voted for a bus from North Lawrence to the high school.
Several North Lawrence residents have raised questions regarding the ownership of the Lawrence Bus Co. Research by the Kansas yielded no conclusive answer to the question but revealed several inconsistencies.
The franchise granted to the Lawrence Bus Co. by the city of
Lawrence in 1962 stated the Rapid Transit Bus Co., which preceded the Lawrence Bus Co., did not cease operation until 1959. The corporation charter for the Lawrence Bus Co., however, was dated 1957 and the president of the corporation was listed as the former owner of the Wichita Rapid Transit Co.
Ogle said in 1957 members of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce donated money to buy the company from the Wichita Rapid Transit Co. An amended version of the corporation charter for the Lawrence Bus Co. dated 1963 still
listed the president of the corporation as the same man whose name appeared on the 1957 document. The document dated 1963 is the most recent on record.
Regardless of the questionable ownership of the bus company the people of North Lawrence need bus service.
Ogle said he was opposed to the idea of a subsidy. He estimated the cost of subsidizing the entire Lawrence area at $200,000.
"It wouldn't be fair to the taxpayers to have to support such a measure," Ogle said.
Norman Steffen, chairman of the Lawrence Human Relations Commission, support the bussing of No. 9th Lawrence residents.
"My contention is that public transportation should be the responsibility of the city," Mrs. Johnson said. "It should be available to all citizens and the fare box should not be a criterion for service. If the city has to subsidize it, okay," she said.
"I would advocate whatever could be worked out for transportation from North Lawrence," he said, "especially where limited finances for transportation make a hardship for families."
10 KANSAN Mar. 2
1970
He said that although "the American Negro is making extraordinary progress . . . there would seem to be countercurrents that pose a serious threat to the welfare of the blacks and the stability of the society, white and black."
"We may need a pertod in which Negro progress continues and racial rhetoric fades," Moynihan suggested. He also said the administration needs a more coherent "approach to a number of issues."
Moynihan also suggested that attention to the Black Panthers may have given them martyrdom.
WASHINGTON (UPI) — The White House said Sunday it had received a memorandum from presidential adviser Daniel P. Moynihan suggesting that the race issue "could benefit from a period of 'benign neglectism.'"
Requirements altered in Poli Sci department
'Rhetoric' end suggested
In addition to the requirement changes, the department has named specific advisers who are available for students who are interested in specific career preparation. Advisers are available for students that are considering public service, law, foreign affairs, and the graduate school as their specialty.
The department of political science has announced several changes for students majoring in political science. The changes deal with the requirements for the undergraduate major and the student's career preparation.
The department has abolished the sophomore methodology course as a requirement, and the student's three options have been dropped.
The course offerings in the political science field have also been changed. Twenty-seven courses have been affected by the recent changes. Of the 27, eight were dropped, 15 were given new titles, and four are new courses. The new courses deal with urban politics and administration. In the near future, the department will offer a course in black political theory.
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