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The general "conclusion" of the nearly finished report is that Tupelo adopt a fixed-route system that would not serve the whole city but would concentrate on areas where ridership is likely to be highest.
The report also says a paratransit system, for the elderly and disabled, or a flex-route system could be implemented. Two variations of the paratransit system and three fixed-route variations are the other five options described in the report.
Chairman Brad Prewitt, who has led the group since its inception in 2009, said Wednesday's adoption session at City Hall would include discussion of a work session with the council set for July 27.
The commission's draft report, prepared by Neel-Schaeffer Inc. and Bourne Transit Consulting, is a 46-page document laying out the process of evaluating options, descriptions and maps of potential routes, interviews with Tupelo citizens, comments from officials of other communities' transit systems, cost and revenue calculations under various scenarios, and summaries of other transit services in similar cities within the region.
Prewitt, an attorney who formerly worked as counsel to Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., on Capitol Hill, said Tupelo would qualify for a 50 percent government match on expenses. But the amount depends on the level and cost of services agreed on by the council, which must approve implementation and a budget for any level of transit service.
"We have to give (the council) all the plusses and minuses," Prewitt said.
Commissioner Lynn Bryan agreed, adding, "We need to tell (the City Council) to read the entire report, that we expect them to do that."
Commission members nodded in agreement when former longtime retailer Jim Westbrook urged timely adoption leading to action.
"We have just got to get started," Westbrook said.
The 10 a.m. session Wednesday and the July 27 work session with the City Council are public meetings. The Wednesday meeting is in Conference Room B in City Hall.
Contact Joe Rutherford at (662) 678-1597 or joe.rutherford@djournal.com.