The city of Bowling Green has rejected proposals from three firms seeking to manage and operate transit services in the city.

The city last week got responses from three companies to a request for proposals for the management and operation of transit services.

But the city rejected all the proposals, according to Brent Childers, director of the city’s neighborhood and community services department.

He said the city is giving the companies “an opportunity to resubmit” the proposals with more information and in a “correct fashion.” He said the request for proposals that was reissued this week is substantially the same, but some clarifying language has been added.

The new deadline for proposals is April 24.

The responses will be evaluated by Childers, city grants coordinator Nick Cook and a consultant. The trio will then make a recommendation to the Bowling Green City Commission, which will have a final say.

Childers said with some tweaks to the proposals, they will be in a position to make a recommendation.

The search for a transit manager came after a study by Pittsburgh-based Michael Baker International in 2019 by the Bowling Green-Warren County Metropolitan Planning Organization. That study recommended the city seek an outside partner to operate the transit system.

The three companies have not been publicly named. The firms had the option of submitting bids to either manage the system, operate the system or both.

Childers said the three firms provided five options: one opted to bid on only management, and two proposed to both operate and manage the system.

Currently, the city offers an annual contract for transit operations, funded this year by about $1.2 million in federal dollars with a $430,000 match from the city.

Community Action of Southern Kentucky has been the successful bidder to operate GO bg Transit since 2003. The current Community Action contract goes through July 1.