Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport officials postponed action on a contract for shuttle service between the airport and intown hotels, pending an investigation into an accident last week involving the shuttle operator selected for the contract.
A resolution to approve the shuttle contract was on the Atlanta City Council transportation committee’s agenda for Wednesday, but Hartsfield-Jackson general manager Louis Miller said Wednesday morning he would hold the item back until the next meeting in two weeks. “College Park hasn’t issued its final report on its investigation,” Miller said.
Airport officials months ago recommended the company, MTI Limo and Shuttle Services Inc., to operate “shared-ride” shuttles between the airport and downtown, Midtown and Buckhead. That decision was made in January, well before the accident Friday that sent shuttle passengers to the hospital.
A shuttle bus operated by MTI carrying 15 passengers late Friday morning slammed into the rear of a tractor-trailer that was making a U-turn on Loop Road just south of Virginia Avenue.
Police, with the help of the Georgia State Patrol’s special collision reconstruction team, continue to investigate the crash.
College Park Police Sgt. Keith Stanley said the investigation could take up to two weeks “before anybody might be charged.”
The shared-ride shuttle contract has been controversial since Atlanta Link stopped operating the shuttles in 2010. A-National Limousine has been handling the shared-ride shuttles on an interim basis since then, while the city worked toward officially contracting out the work.
The city solicited proposals for the shared-ride shuttle in 2011. After complaints about conflicts of interest, the city said last year it would rebid the contract. MTI bid $151,500 for the contract.
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