Columbus Mayor Robert Smith agreed to a 17-day extension Friday to Lawrence Transit System to have its bus service up and running. The extension will allow the company to complete the building of shelters at locations where they are required and have the buses brought to the city from Lawrence, Ind.
The new deadline for the company to begin operations is Aug. 26.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage confirmed via text message Saturday the company asked for seven days for materials to ship and 10 days for installation.
LTS operations director Dorothy Dowdell said Thursday that an insurance issue centering around bus stop shelters prevented the company from meeting the initial Aug. 9 deadline to start operations. The city had the authority in its one-year contract with the company to cancel the service if operations had not begun by that date.
Dowdell said in a Dispatch report published Friday that the initial plan was to install shelters after the buses had begun routes, but there were a couple of liability issues pointed out by the insurance company.
Dowdell issued a press release on behalf of LTS Thursday stating when operations began there would be four routes running each day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.: a Highway 82/North Side route, a South Lehmberg Road/Mississippi University for Women route, a North Lehmberg Road/Hospital Road route and an express route that would make stops at the East Mississippi Community College in Mayhew, the Columbus Soccer Complex, the Riverwalk and the WIN Job Center.
Dowdell said the service is creating 20 jobs immediately with an additional 40-55 when the service is full operation.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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