Johns Island Organizing for Better Transit Mon. Dec. 17

Millicent Traeye Middleton has called  a meeting on Monday, Dec. 17 at 4 PM at the John's Island Regional Library at 3531 Maybank Highway.  The meeting will included presentations by Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit and Tri County Link after which they’ll answer the public's questions and listen to public comments. Also attending will be representatives of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry, a 25 church association which has adopted improved public transit as their action goal for this year. You can find out more about this event online by going to www.BFLTransit.com.

if you have ideas or questions, you can call  Millicent Traeye Middleton (pictured right)  at 954-825-8438

Over a half century ago Civil Rights leader Esau Jenkins (pictured above) organized a bus system for the people of the Sea Islands so they could reach education and employment opportunities denied them by segregationist laws and put a fleet of VW buses like the one pictured above on the road. Today the back window hatch of one of those buses hangs in the Smithsonian's African American History museum. it's a mighty heritage and an example of how the people of our sea islands don't wait for change, the make it. On Monday, they'll start an effort which will go into high gear next year. Join us and Together, We'll go forward.

Transit Planning for SC Lowcountry About to Begin

North Charleston, SC - Rapid Transit may finally come to the Lowcountry and South Carolina if local authorities move on planning this Fall for the long promised Bus Rapid System approved and funded by voters in the 2016 Half Penny Sales Tax referendum. Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit is planning to reach 10 thousand people with face to face conversations and information this fall to help prepare them for the upcoming meetings.

County Council will consider the issue at their Finance Committee meeting on Thursday, November 18 at 5 pm at the Lonnie Hamilton County Services Building. The public can attend this meeting or watch the online stream webcast. You can read the agenda at https://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/county-council/packets/2018/10-18-18-Finance.pdf

On Wednesday, October 25, the CARTA Board of Directors will meet at 1 pm, at the Lonnie Hamilton County Services Building. The public can attend and make comments during the meeting. There is a facebook signup for those would would like to attend as part of a demonstration of support for better transit. https://www.facebook.com/events/482075578965019/

It has now been almost two years since Charleston County voters approved the half penny sales tax after County Council promised to devote 600 million dollars of the total to be collected for better transit in the Lowcountry. (Billions of dollars will be spent on roads as part of a program funded from multiple sources.) In the past two years, more studies have been conducted. Collection of the half penny tax began in May 2017.

We’ve been informed by CARTA representatives that,”(T)he BRT is moving forward. Engineering firm signed. Team kickoff meeting has taken place. Public involvement plan being developed. Stakeholder outreach begins soon."

Earlier this fall, they Mayor of Summerville recorded a video asking for input on the plan.

0:00 / 0:37

Bus Rapid Transit Station

The 23 mile transit line connecting Charleston, N. Charleston, Ladson, Lincolnville and Summerville will put high tech hybrid electric buses in dedicated lanes with service running as often as every 10 minutes during peak hours. You can see a detailed diagram of what the system might look like in this Gold Standard BRT PDF.

In September a new Tri County link bus service connected Summerville with Charleston, but the current trip takes between 1 hour and Twenty Minutes with no stops in N. Charleston in either direction except the transfer in Otranto using the Tri county link CS2 route and the CARTA Express #1 route. Completing the same trip on the #10 CARTA bus with 53 stops along the line in N. Charleston takes a total of 2 hours and 33 minutes. Plans for the Rapid Transit system promise a trip with 16 stops along the line in 59 minutes.

Transit outreach in Mt. Pleasant

A rapid transit line like the one planned would enable revitalization of Rivers Ave and accommodate tens of thousands of new residents and affordable housing with those people finding the automobile optional in their day to day lives. Employment, shopping, healthcare and community can all be found within easy walking distance of the stations planned along the line, including Northwoods Mall, Downtown Summerville, the rapidly developing high tech Charleston Neck and Line Street in Downtown Charleston. Passengers choosing to leave their cars at homes near the line or choosing to live without owning a car will relieve pressure on overburdened roads like I26, Dorchester Road and Rivers Ave.

To help make sure the public has the opportunity to participate in creating this new system this fall, please see the Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit at www.BFLTransit.com or call William Hamilton at (843) 870-5299.

END END END

Summerville Getting Ready to Ride

The Mayor of Summerville would like to hear from his community and others about how to connect the planned rapid transit system from Charleston and N. Charleston with his community. We met he Mayor while doing transit outreach to 2000 people at the Town’s Sweet Tea Festival last Thursday. The Mayor recorded a short video asking for your input. 

We were also able to reach about 500 people at Saturday’s Charleston Pride Festival about improving transit Saturday. Everywhere we go, people in the Lowcountry now recognize that we need better transit and that roads alone won’t solve our congestion problems.

We’re informed that engineering work on the planned bus rapid transit line, with public input meetings, should begin in late October or early November. We’ll be working across the Lowcountry this fall to make the community aware of what possible, so we can increase the chances our community will build a 23 mile long transit line which is fast, reliable and safe which links Charleston, N. Charleston, Ladson, Lincolnville and Summerville.

Thanks to our joint transit advocacy effort with people in the Town of Lincolnville a new Tri County bus route now connects downtown Summerville with CARTA bus service in N. Charleston running to Charleston. Link bus services are now represented in Google Maps trip planning and the popular Transit App. these services largely follow the planned route of the rapid Transit line and provide faster transit connections between the two communities.  See these improved transit services in Google Maps.

If you have ideas on how we can reach more people before planning starts this fall, please let us know. We welcome volunteers and invitations to your community events. Just email wjhamilton29464@gmail.com or call (843) 870-5299.

Hurricane Evacuation Bus Service

Charleston County operates a Hurricane Evacuation Bus System.

The system uses yellow school buses which may be labeled Charleston County Schools or Durham Student services. They run to specially marked stops around Charleston County. These buses bring people to emergency hurricane shelters. 

Shelters are now concentrated on high ground, inland in N. Charleston and Ladson.

List of Stops - Some of the stops have been relocated and improved since last year. You can find a list of them starting on page 23 of this PDF. https://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/emergency-management/files/hurricane-guides/2018-Hurricane-Guide-Color-Full-Size.pdf

Disabled Persons - Page 26 of this document has contact numbers of disabled persons or other persons with special needs who cannot reach the Hurricane Evacuation Bus System.  https://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/emergency-management/files/hurricane-guides/2018-Emergency-Preparedness-Disabilites-Guide-Color-Full-Size.pdf  "If you are disabled and cannot get to the nearest evacuation pick-up point: Contact the Charleston County Emergency Public Information Line at (843) 746-3900, and a vehicle will be dispatched to transport you to the nearest available shelter."

Animals and Pets- "If you have an animal to evacuate with you and you do not have transportation: Contact the Charleston County Emergency Public Information Line at (843) 746-3900, and a vehicle will be dispatched to transport you and your pet(s) to the evacuation animal shelter. Bring all supplies needed for your pet: crate, collar, leash, food, identification, veterinarian/immunization records, etc.

The nearest Hurricane Evacuation Bus Stop to the Mary Street Transit Center downtown is locations at bus shelter on the sidewalk on Meeting Street in front of Courtney School near the Mary Street on the East Side.

Signs for the stops look like this.  Transportation on the buses is free. People who rode the buses and stayed at the shelter last year had a hard time connecting with the buses. Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit made an issue out of this and published our thoughts on how they system could be improved, which appear to have been implemented in part.

Here is an image of a Hurricane Evacuation Bus in operation last year.  Buses may not always stop right by the sign so keep a look out and wear bright colors. The drivers try hard to find everyone.

We continue to believe that as many of these stops as possible should be co located with major CARTA bus stops on major regular bus routes. We also believe that finding locations with rain shelter and lighting for these stops should be a priority. The system didn't work well last year, but people speaking out (see video) has made a difference since. There has been improvement in this area in the past year, however as usual getting different government agencies to coordinate their activities here remains a struggle.

Half of the Lowcountry Population doesn't have a driver's license and the obsession with private automobiles during hurricane evacuation continues to leave government with a blind spot. However the people running the shelters and the buses were trying very hard last year. If your area has to evacuate, heat out as early as you can, wear bright colors and if you see a bus wave and try to get their attention.

Lincolnville, Ladson and Summerville Get a Bus Line

Lincolnville, SC- Improved bus service will link Charleston to Summerville Starting Tuesday, September 4 when Tri-County Link starts running a new route from North of Summerville at Crossroads Plaza through Summerville to the Otranto / North Charleston Park and Ride Hub on River's Ave.  This will bring more frequent and useful tranist service to Lincolnville, Ladson and Communities along Highway 78.

Transit Outreach in Lincolnville

Full details about the route are now online at http://ridetricountylink.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/CS2-8_16_2018.pdf

In N. Charleston the new route will connect with the CARTA #1 Express and CARTA #10 Rivers Ave bus, both strong, heavily used bus lines. A park and ride facility under construction there will provide shelter, bathrooms and parking in the future.

The new bus line will also be the first in that are to be represented on Google Tranist, so trips can be planned online with connections to other CARTA bus routes.

Later, the Bus Rapid Tranist Line  planned to run from Summerville to Charleston will bring radically faster transit to this area, cutting travel times in half.

Summerville Transit Supporters.

Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit began working to improve transit in this area in Spring o 2017 with a public outreach effort along Highway 78 and River's Ave. covering over 23 miles of road frontage. Over the past year, they've held public information meetings in Summerville and Lincolnville, participated in a public hearing with Lincolnville Town Council, and done outreach at the Summerville Farmer's Market. The have operated public information tents at the Ladson Flea Market, Sangaree neighborhood spring festival and Lincolnville Back to School Celebration.

People in the area want better transit. Huge amounts of new construction and development are planned and a transit alternative to the often 90 minute car trip to Charleston is desired. People from Summerville, Lincolnville, Ladson and Sangaree have all made their desire for better transit known to their elected officials.  Our outreach teams were nearly always the first people to go out and talk to residents and businesses in the area about transit.  In it's 150 year history, local planning agencies had never visited the historic town of Lincolnville to discuss transit.

Or organizing efforts helped people in their area find their voice and get improved transit.

Best friends of Lowcountry Transit will continue their outreach and advocacy efforts for better transit this fall. To get involved contact William Hamilton at (843) 870-5299 or wjhamilton29464@gmail.com.

END END END

Join us at the CARTA Board Meeting Wednesday

The Board of Directors of the CHARLESTON AREA REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY will meet on Wednesday at 1 pm. On the Agenda is a report from the Route Advisory Committee on possible changes to our existing bus routes. We hope you will be able to join us or view the meeting online (instructions at the bottom of this message. There is a period for two minute public comments at the end of this meeting.  Below is the official agenda.

 

CARTA BOARD MEETING
August 22, 2018
1:00 PM
Lonnie Hamilton III Public Service Building
4045 Bridgeview Drive, Room B-225
North Charleston, SC  29405

AGENDA

1. Call to Order 
2. Consideration of Board Minutes – June 21, 2018 & July 11, 2018 Meetings
3. Financial Status Report – Robin Mitchum
4. Route Advisory Committee Recommendations –  Sharon Hollis
5. Hospitality on Peninsula Service – Ron Mitchum
6. Shelter/Bench Installation Project – Status Report – Andrea Kozloski
7. Project Status Reports – Sharon Hollis
   1. Regional Transit Framework Plan 
   2. Regional Park and Ride Study 
   3. Intermodal Center
   4. Lowcountry Rapid Transit
   5. Mount Pleasant Planning Project
8. Marketing/Outreach Report - Daniel Brock
9. Executive Director’s Report
10. Other Business, If Any
11. Public Comments, If Any
12. Board Comments, If Any
13. Adjournment 

Please note that the next regularly scheduled meeting of the CARTA Board will be September 19, 2018 in Room B-225 of the Lonnie Hamilton III Public Service Building, 4045 Bridgeview Drive, North Charleston, SC  29405.  Notice, including agenda documentation, will be sent to Board Members in advance of the meeting, as well as posted on www.ridecarta.com. The CARTA Board Meetings are broadcast live on Charleston County’s Ustream Channel at https://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/county-council/cctv.php

Daniel Island Ferry Demonstration Run

Daniel Island Dock

We joined about 40 other people on their way to work from Daniel Island to Downtown Charleston this morning, July 27.

The Ferry left a little after 7:30 am and took 20 minutes to run, dock to dock to the Maritime Center in Downtown Charleston.

Plans are being made to upgrade the dock and parking on Daniel Island.  A new, larger, all weather ferry has been ordered so that regular service can being in Spring 2019.

Mayor Techlinberg was among the passengers. Many representatives of local media were on board.

On the Wando River

It was a great effort and thanks are due to the many community partners who participated in this morning's effort.

Jasmine Gil, Community Outreach Coordinator

Coastal Conservation League, led a wonderful coalition of community organizations to put on this event. 

We ended our trip with a ride on the DASH bus to the office.

Drawing of future Daniel Island Ferry

County Council Committee to Proposes Changes to how CARTA is Controlled.

Last night Charleston County Council voted to approve the CARTA budget and appoint a committee to change the way CARTA is controlled. We agree that CARTA needs to be improved, but the lack of reference in the discussion to the needs of the people who ride the community and the people who ride the buses is disturbing. Please contact the members of the committee  and remind them that thousands of families depend on this transit system and so do the people who employ them. Councilmen Sass, Qualey and Summey were appointed to a committee to work on this issue. View the discussion online starting at 1:25  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/116247013

Please share your personal experience with transit and CARTA in a respectful way..

While we push CARTA for improvements, it’s important to recognize it provides transportation service critical to the survival of thousands of Lowcountry families and businesses. Congestion is beginning to strangle regular bus service here. The Bus Rapid Transit line is a powerful tool to deal with all of these problems, but large parts of our area will continue to rely on regular bus service. Cutting bus service (as CARTA has been doing for the past 8 years) aggravates all of our community’s transportation problems.

The Lowcountry’s way forward has to be more and better transit services, which the voters of Charleston County chose to do in November 2016.

Please contact the members of this new committee and urge them to:

• Remember the thousands of people who ride our buses, their families and their employers
• Work to create a CARTA capable of providing more and better transit for the Lowcountry to reduce congestion and increase our quality of life.

Joseph K. Qualey
(843) 693-3434
jqualey@charlestoncounty.org

J. Elliott Summey
(843) 958-4031 (O)
esummey@charlestoncounty.org

Herbert Ravenel Sass, III
(843) 766-7500 (O)
(843) 693-8305 (C)
hsass@charlestoncounty.org
 

Transit Progress Happening 

Exciting progress is being made on Lowcountry transit this week.

Last night in Lincolnville Town Council, following our  presentation on possible bus routes for the area, Jeff Burns representing CARTA & Tri County Link announced that full time bus service would be coming to the area See short video We’ve been working with the people on Lincolnville, Ladson and Sangaree on getting better bus service since February. We’ve talked to over 3000 people in this rapidly developing area and participated in six community events and found a community ready to make transit work and eager for the Bus Rapid Transit line now in the planning stages. Improved bus service may begin running in the fall and we’ll continue to work with the people out there to help them get people on the buses once they’re running.

Tonight (July 12) at 5 pm, The City of Charleston will vote on buying the property on which the Mt. Pleasant Street Bus Rapid Transit Station may be constructed (Between Joseph Floyd Manor and the Longshoreman’s hall, across the street from Santi’s) You can read the agenda and proposed ordinance. This station will serve as a gateway to Charleston. We continue to work to be sure the BRT line continues to the heart of the City at Line Street  a mile and a half south of this location instead of, as some people have proposed stopping there. The BRT line could enhance the proposed Lowline Park along the abandoned rail line while still helping reduce traffic congestion and keep the city vital.

On Tuesday, July 17, at 5 pm, the City of Charleston will consider the CARTA budget. If you have concerns about bus service downtown, on James Island, or West of the Ashely, please come and speak during the public comment period. Once the budget has passed, improvements are harder to obtain. You can get Full Details on the Facebook Event page.  You can contact Mayor Techenberg by calling 843-577-6970 or reach your City Council member through contact information on this page.

Attend Upcoming CARTA Budget Hearings for Better Bus Service

The bus service your community receives from CARTA is controlled by the CARTA budget which has to be approved by some local municipalities and Charleston County Council each Summer. Last year this resulted in a budget which did not produce improved bus service to any significant extent.  The 11 million dollars left on the table of the 350 million dollar / 25 year funding stream for better bus service became in effect, an interest free loan for road construction under a "pay go" plan passed without public input by an obscure committee.

When Transit Advocates requested better bus service last year, CARTA said there was no money in the budget for it.  County Council said they gave CARTA all the money requested.

Here is the list of meetings where the CARTA budget will be considered this summer. If you live in one of these towns or cities, you should contact your Mayor and Town Council immediately. Advocates from Best Friends of Lowcountry Tranist will be happy to join and support you, but it is the local voice which will be heard.

The CARTA Preliminary Budget will be presented at:

·         City of Hanahan Council Meeting:  Tu-7/10 @ 6:30pm

·         City of Charleston Council Meeting:  Tu-7/17 @ 5 pm (Corrected from time provided by CARTA per City Announcement)

·         Town of Sullivan’s Island Council Meeting:  Tu-7/17 @ 6pm

·         Charleston County (Finance & Council Meetings)  Charleston County Finance Committee meeting will be held on Th-7/19 but they haven’t confirmed the time yet.  Their Council meeting will be held on Tu-7/24 @ 6:30pm.

·         City of Isle of Palms Council Meeting:  Tu-7/24 @ 6pm

·         Town of Kiawah Ways & Means Committee Meeting:  Tu-7/24 @ 2pm 

·         City of North Charleston Finance & Council Meetings: Th-8/16 @ 5pm

To contact us for assistance in being heard call William Hamilton at (843) 870-5299 or email wjhamilton29464@gmail.comwjhamilton29464@gmail.com

Mt. Pleasant Declines to Approve CARTA Budget

Update- July 2

Public Discussion about Transit, May 2018

Demand Accountablity in the CARTA Budget Process.

Know what bus service your Town or City will get before the budget is approved.

This July is the time to ask your Mayor and Town or City Council in Charleston County to demand accountability for better bus routes in the CARTA budget process. Ask them not to approve the budget until they've seen a CARTA board approved plan for future bus service in your town or city.

All four members of Mount Pleasant's finance committee declined to approve CARTA's "preliminary budget" as a meeting on Monday, July 2 and referred the matter to the Town's Transportation Committee for review. After public comments by Best Friends of Lowcountry Tranist Executive Director William Hamilton and a presentation by CARTA Director Ron Mitchum, Town Council members on the committee said they needed to see clear proposals for future bus service in the community.

During his comments, Mitchum accused Best Friends of dishonesty and suggested that with friends like Best Friends, CARTA didn't need enemies. The committee asked Mt. Mitchum to move on from that theme to the issue of bus service. Mitchum said no major reduction in the total hours of bus service in Charleston County was planned for the coming year, but indicated changes were possible and that a study was underway by a route advisory committee. There is also some sort of 50 thousand dollar study planned about bus service to hotels as well.  There are at least three other transit related studies going forward or recently finished at the moment, the total cost of which is unknown.

Signing the Citizens Commitment to Transit

We urge transit riders throughout Charleston County to ask their municipal governments to decline to approve next year's CARTA budget until we know how the funding made available through the half penny sales tax will or will not improve bus service next year. 

County Council promised included 600 million dollars for improved, transit, 250 for a BRT line and 350 for improved bus service in a resolution passed by County Council in October 2016, a month before the half penny sales tax referendum vote. Mt. Mitchum denied any specific promise was made about transit funding as part or the referendum. 

Best Friends sent the following letter to Mt. Pleasant Town Council.  It has also filed a Freedom of Information Act Request with CARTA.

Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit, Inc.
32 Sowell St.
Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
WWW.BFLTRANSIT.COM

July 2, 2018

Finance Committee
Mount Pleasant Town Council

Dear Mayor and Council,

We believe CARTA’s rushed effort to get their budget approved by the Town of Mount Pleasant is premature in view of their pending plans to reorganize the East Cooper Route System again. We would urge the Finance Committee to Defer any action to approve the budget, which was described at the last CARTA Board Meeting as “preliminary” until the Town and East Cooper area know what sort of bus service the tax papers and transit riders of our area (who pay approximately 40% of the County’s sales taxes) are going to receive for their money.

We would suggest:

• ·         That this matter be referred to the Transportation Committee for their review with the assistance of our CARTA Board Members;
• ·         That we seek the assistance and counsel of the governments of the Isle of Palms & Sullivan’s Island so the entire East Cooper area can consider this matter;
• ·         A public hearing on Bus Service be held during the August Town Council Meeting; and that
• ·         The budget only be approved once the CARTA board has approved plans for our bus routes for the next year.

We’re informed and believe major changes to our existing bus service are planned. We remind council the last round of bus service cuts reversed years of progress increasing ridership. It left us with a dysfunctional, part time #42 route on the North end of town, reduced service, and no provision for connecting service to N. Charleston or the beach. It did not offer the improved service promised in the I26alt study published prior to the half penny sales tax referendum.

We should use the budget process for CARTA for the purposes for which it was created - to assure accountability to the municipalities, taxpayers, and riders the authority is supposed to serve, who now face the prospect of increased taxes for decreased service.

Sincerely,

William J. Hamilton, III
Executive Director
Ph (843) 870-5299

Fancies about Transit to Folly are not Facts

On June 29, 2018 the Post and Courier ran and article entitled, “Park-and-ride lots could help combat high season traffic in SC beach communities.”     

Two years after CARTA, the BCD COG and local elected officials promised better bus service in return for a half penny increase in the Charleston County Sales tax, local transit riders continue to wait on two things to arrive as scheduled, better bus service and the truth. We’re wondering if either is actually on the way. See an excerpt from the I26alt study showing bus routes to both IOP and Folly Beach.

As is becoming increasingly common, CARTA’s contribution to the content can be described, at best, as incomplete and misleading.

The article states, “Daniel Brock, a spokesperson for CARTA, said that the idea couldn't be implemented in the near future. One hurdle is that the transit agency would need to obtain buses with waterproof interiors in case beach-goers, who often leave town sandy and damp, use the bus. “

Possible CARTA Beach Bus Candidate

Mr. Brock drives a large SUV to work where he invents things like this for CARTA in return for payments of tens of thousands of dollars made to his employer. Since he doesn’t ride the bus except for photo ops with local politicians, we’ll extend him the benefit of the doubt about what he may not know.

CARTA ran bus service to the Isle of Palms for over 50 years using regular service buses, some of which are still operating in CARTA’s regular fleet. Regular vehicles were used for the Island Flex Bus which served East of the Cooper until 2013.

Mr. Brock wouldn’t know that when CARTAs regular passengers climb on board in the pouring rain (when he would never be riding) from the hundreds of unsheltered stops still waiting on bus shelters three years after funding for them was given to CARTA that those passengers track water all over the #10, #11 and other buses serving inland routes. Mud and dirt comes on board as well. On some buses, water gushing up through the corroded floor or pouring down through leaks in the roof saturates the interior as well. All regular transit buses are built to survive this treatment and regular transit type buses serve beaches and damp passengers all over the planet and all up and down the East Coast, just like they do when CARTA's passengers step on board after being drenched in the Freezing Rain in February.

Beach bus for CARTA, it's waterproof.

Had the Post and Courier contacted us for comment, or any experience transit rider, we could have pointed that out. We sent the newspaper two press releases last week and dropped off a press package on Sunday’s Folly Freedom Fish Fry, so they know we exist.

The article goes on to say, "While additional service to area beaches may be an eventual possibility, it’s not feasible in the immediate future," Brock wrote in an email. "Financially, there is no available funding in the system budget for that sort of expansion."

Another option for Folly Road.

This statement is utterly untrue. The resolution passed before the 2016 Referendum provided 250 million dollars for construction of a Bus Rapid Transit Line and 350 Million dollars to improve bus service in Charleston County over the next 25 years. That works out to 14 million dollars in additional funding fo bus service each year. Last year an obscure committee, working in secret passed a “pay go” plan which diverted 11 million dollars of bus money to road construction on the fiction that CARTA will get its share of the money 12 years or more later.

More recently they’ve built on that mythology by concocting a nightmare scenario for 12 years from now where money from the first half penny sales tax passed in 2004 runs out and CARTA continues a skeleton operation using the by then greatly diminished in value remaining dollars to continue a skeleton system on a starvation budget.

Ron Mitchum

Mr. Brock works for Rawl Murdy, CARTA's PR firm. Evidently Mike Seeking’s, the board Chairman wasn’t comfortable making these statements to the press since he may be trying to get elected Mayor of Charleston or be seeing reelection to Charleston City Council. CARTA Executive Director Ron Mitchum (pictured right) chose not to go on the record as well.

The simple fact is that communities up and down the East Coast of the United States, outside of South Carolina, which has failed to shake the plantation / segregation legacy of barriers to beach access, run bus service to their beaches. Each of these transit authorities struggles with funding issues. None of them need a special waterproof bus. 

• You can take the bus to Jacksonville Beach from downtown Jacksonville.
• They have a bus from downtown Wilmington, NC to Carolina Beach.
• You can take a bus from Norfork, VA to Virginia beach.
• In Delaware you can take the bus from Georgetown to Rehoboth Beach

Next week, many of the people who control CARTA and our local governments will be enjoying the July 4^th. Holiday at their family’s beach houses, which most of them have enjoyed for generations. When they had African American maids to sweep their floors and cook their meals, they were careful to have bus service running to Sullivan’s Island and the Isle of Palms. That bus service disappeared with the cheap labor which used to wash the sand out of their bathing suits.

Transit outreach on Sol Legare Isalnd, on Folly Road.

The gates which once barred African Americans from our beaches disappeared with segregation, but Charleston’s political leadership perpetuates a view of the world where the quality of life of ordinary people isn’t regarded as significant. The hundreds of help wanted signs now found in nearly every shop and restaurant window indicate that working people understand this and are increasingly finding other places to live. Disasters like the shooting at a downtown Restaurant last summer which hired a dishwasher without a background check, show the high costs of decisions based on these outdated values.

We’ve fought to get public transit back to Charleston area beaches for the last three years not because it is the most important thing, but because of what it means. It tells the community and transit riders that some people shouldn’t have a high quality of life and those people include people who ride our buses. That’s acceptable to some of the people who control our local governments and transit authority, but it’s not acceptable to us.

On July 1 we’ll hold a Freedom Fish Fry at the Island Breeze at Mosquito Beach and on July 14 we’ll invade Folly Beach for Bastille Day at the Beach to begin the transit revolution. We’ll continue the fight for the transit service we were promised for our half penny sales tax money until we have it.