Vicksburg will have public buses again, as suggested by a Chamber of Commerce committee, if a federal-local funding formula is approved.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Monday to seek federal dollars through the Mississippi Department of Transportation and set a public hearing date for the grant at 10 a.m. April 8 at City Hall Annex.

The grant would provide about $328,000 of the estimated $1.1 million start-up cost and would be combined with a $500,000 earmark through Congress for the purchase of buses.

City Planner Wayne Mansfield said that will leave about $241,000 in local dollars to get the project off the ground, but said that the money could come from different sources. He also said that the startup cost will also include a terminal building that has not yet been identified.

“We haven’t quite gotten to that point yet, but we need to get the application (for the grant) in now,” Mansfield said.

Consultants who presented the Chamber of Commerce with a study recommended a five-route system through the city and county. They told local leaders that the grant application would have to be submitted before April 22 to get funding this year. They also said Vicksburg would be likely to win the funding and could start a system by early 2006.

Five bus routes would provide specific stops at local industries and retail areas, and would include flexible service to city and county areas as needed. Buses would run 12 hours per day for six days each week. Fares would be $1 per passenger.

Consultants initially estimated revenue of about $61,000 annually, but that figure has been increased by about $10,000 in the latest cost projection. Mansfield said the new amount reflects expected contracts with local businesses like Warren Yazoo Mental Health, transportation for tourists on river tour boats and income from advertising on bus panels.

“We had somebody look at the numbers and we got it a little closer to actual,” Mansfield said.

Totaled, the revenue would provide about 13 percent of costs. Annual operating expenses have also been adjusted to about $600,000 per year. About half of that would be covered by federal grants, leaving about $260,000 to come from local sources.

Vicksburg last had a public transit system in the 1960s. It shut down due to lack of use. An experiment with motorized trolleys was conducted in 1993, but also failed due to a lack of riders.

The Chamber recommendation was based on 2000 census figures showing about 20 percent of area residents do not drive or own vehicles.

In other matters the city board: