Bus system to hit the streets of northeast Mississippi city

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - A bus system will be hitting the streets of a city in northeast Mississippi in September.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the Tupelo City Council authorized spending approximately $209,000 to fund a 13-month public transportation pilot program within the city with a 4-3 vote Tuesday.

Northeast Mississippi Community Services will directly manage the program using its own buses and vans. It has operated on-demand public transportation residents in Alcorn, Prentiss, Tishomingo and Marshall counties. However, the agency has never operated a fixed-route, municipal transit system.

Tupelo’s investment in public transportation represents a little less than half the money needed to fund the program for 13 months. More than $220,000 in funding will come from federal sources administered in the state by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://djournal.com