"KEWPIE EXPRESS": Fills important gap in teen transport

To Hickman High -- and beyond!

COLUMBIA, 5/8/13 (Beat Byte) -- For parents of teens who don't drive and don't qualify for school bus service, a pilot program between the City of Columbia and Columbia Public Schools may fill an important gap in transportation.

The Kewpie Express runs between Hickman High School and Park De Ville Drive west of town April 15 to May 15, with service offered free to the first 100 students and staff who sign up and agree to complete a short weekly feedback form.

Also open to the general public, the Kewpie Express -- named for the Hickman High mascot -- runs along Columbia's two major east-west connector streets, Broadway and Worley, at key times during the school day. Five morning routes start near the HyVee grocery store from 6:20 to 7:40 am, taking roughly 20 minutes to arrive at Hickman. Six afternoon routes leave Hickman between 3 pm and 4:20 pm, leaving ample time for many after school activities.

To ride the same route, students would have to use two Columbia Transit lines, Red and Green. The Red line runs along Broadway and Ash Street while the Green line runs along Worley, approaching the high school.

 

Red and Green bus times are also designed around work rather than school schedules, making them less than optimal for parents who need an alternative to auto transportation.