NATCHEZ — In a first-of-its-kind town hall meeting Wednesday, officials from the Mississippi Department of Transportation and community leaders meet to discuss ways to improve public transportation in Natchez and surrounding areas.

Mississippi Department of Transportation Public Transit Division Manager Charles Husband said the main goal of the meeting was to bring transportation providing agencies together with those who utilize public transportation to find ways to improve public transportation.

Wednesday’s meeting also include a lengthy brainstorming session aimed at identifying areas that are currently not covered by any forms of public transportation.

Husband said in identifying those areas regional transportation providers, and MDOT, can better serve the public.

“And once we’ve identified those needs we can focus on the future of transportation,” Husband said.

Executive Director of Natchez Adult Services and Public Transportation Sabrena Bartley said she felt Wednesday’s meeting generated several ideas with the potential to improve public transportation in Natchez.

Bartley said she’ll be forming focus groups to explore the viability of ideas like having transportation services available every day for 24 hours a day, having more centralized pick up and drop-off points.

Bartley said she also liked the idea of a park-and-ride where county residents can park in a centralized location and use public transportation to go to get to work.

“Imagine if you could park here in Natchez and use public transportation to get to Alcorn (State University,)” Bartley said. “That would be great.”

Natchez Mayor Jake Middleton attended the meeting and said he believes the park-and-ride system could also be used bring workers to the Adams County Correctional Facility.

“There are so many ways we can use public transportation,” Middleton said. “We don’t always realize the importance of what groups like MDOT and Natchez Transit do for this community.”