Columbus’ contract with Lawrence Transit System to bring public transportation to the city is officially null and void.
Mayor Robert Smith said he spoke with LTS coordinator Dorothy Dowdell Thursday and informed her it would be in the best interest of the city going forward if the contract was canceled. This came after Dowdell informed Smith that the company had yet to receive confirmation from Mississippi Department of Transportation regarding a grant it had planned to use to start the service, Smith said.
He said he has spoken with representatives of three other companies regarding a public transportation service.
“My plans are to give them a call sometime next week and see what they have to offer,” Smith said today.
Smith said he will then take information from those discussions to councilmen and gather public input so the next company chosen is successful in starting a city bus system.
“Hopefully within the next six months we will have some type of transportation if everything works out,” he said.
Councilmen voted Nov. 5 to grant LTS a 30-day extension to have buses running.
After months of negotiations with the company including a visit to its home base in Lawrence, Ind., by city officials in April, councilmen set an August deadline for LTS before finding the company had not received approval from the Historic Preservation Commission for downtown bus stops and shelters. The commission shot down the stops and shelters in September and Dowdell said she would continue with the service without placing shelters downtown. An insurance issue centering around shelters at certain state road stops due to high traffic and location also kept the company from meeting the August deadline.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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