Keep the Lowcountry Working, Protect Public Transit and Affordable Housing

Save Lowcountry Transit & Affordable housing, Contact Your Representatives

Charleston, SC, USA- Starting in February 4, (the Birthday of Rosa Parks, Feb. 4) we will  mobilize workers and employers in the region to motivate our representatives in the US House and Senate to protect local public transit service and future plans like the LCRT and associated Transit Oriented Development efforts to build transit serviced affordable housing within our urban core. This effort is essential to the long term survival of the Lowcountry's Tourism, Hospitality, F&B, Educational and Medical Care (including elder care) economic sectors.

Image, Right, Remount Road & Rivers Station on the planned LCRT

In January Donald Trump and Elon Musk attempted to cut the federal grant funding which keeps CARTA, LINK and Tel-A-Ride operating.

Please call your federal representatives today and demand that Lowcountry Public Transit be funded and protected in Trump and Musk's "big bill."

Rep. Nancy Mace (202) 225-3176 Mace website contact page

Rep. James Clyburn (202) 225-3315 Clyburn website contact page

Sen. Lindsey Graham (202) 224-5972 Graham website contact page

Sen. Tim Scott Phone (202) 224-6121 Scott website contact page

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Mobility, Housing and Prosperity for a Future Lowcountry

Map of Planned Lowcountry Rapid Transit System

Image, left - Current route plan for the Lowcountry Rapid Transit System (LCRT) See  a video on the LCRT

Trumps same cuts would end plans for the Lowcountry Rapid Transit System and affordable housing efforts. The courts temporarily ordered Trump not to shut down funding previously approved by Congress. Trump and Musk are determined to implement these cuts, called for in the project 2025 document. Given the chaotic nature of breakneck national politics, we'll have to refer you to the news for what is happening today. 

This report from Transportation for America has a map showing possible cuts by state and congressional district with over 146 million dollars in cuts expected in SC. https://t4america.org/2025/02/05/unflooding-the-zone-what-do-the-trump-administrations-latest-actions-signal-for-transportation/

All these sectors have and will continue to need large numbers of service workers who struggle with a rising cost of living here, bottomed on skyrocketing prices for housing within our urban core. Downtown Charleston, Mount Pleasant and North Charleston once housed many of these workers within walking distance or a very short bus ride from their jobs. Gentrification is rapidly consuming the affordable housing left within walking distance of our centers of employment. The most affordable areas to live in the Lowcountry are currently Ladson and Goose Creek, currently two hours or more from the downtown tourism district and medical center by Transit. Parking in our employment centers is still disappearing, while demand increases. 

When CARTA almost completely shut down due to a funding failure 22 years ago for two years, the impact was drastic. Employers and workers struggled, but that was a region where downtown, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant still houses many of our service workers. Hardships during that shutdown destroyed lives and even resulted in deaths as workers were killed walking or biking to work along inadequate infrastructure and at least one suicide when a worker found their bicycle stolen, lost his job and was abandoned by his family. 

This time the impact of losing our transit and failing to address our rising lack of affordable workforce housing will be much worse. We have a vastly larger tourism sector now. We also have an aging population and a falling local birthrate. Most of the people moving to the Lowcountry are coming to retire, not to work.  Many will move into nursing homes and assisted living as they age. They need services. These elderly residents won't be producing them. Flush with wealth accumulated in areas with more robust economies, these seniors are prepared to outbid our hotels, restaurants and hospitals for service labor. 

Image, Right, Best Friends of Lowcoutry Transit members fought for 7 years to successful return public transit to Charleston's Beaches, with service returning to the Isle of Palms in August 2020. 2018, Memorial Weekend, Folly Beach

Compounding this problem is the effort to deport undocumented immigrant labor, which composes a significant part of the workers in these sectors now, as well as local agriculture and construction. As immigrants are forced out of the area, the pressure on the local service labor market will increase. The costs of employment will rise. The struggle to staff existing business will grow more challenging. 

These are known problems. Local governments and organizations like the Chamber of Commerce have known about this looming problem for over a decade. However, a long standing determination to maintain plantation derived social power structures inhibits them from engaging the workers they depend on. Anything which might inform workers that they are valuable parts of the community, increases labor power and exposes the vulnerability of those in control. 

Image, Right - Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit's Transit Complete the Penny Campaign delivered the margin of victory to obtain local funding for construction of the LCRT in 2016. 

The Lowcountry can't indulge its delusions any longer. We already have commercial spaces sitting empty downtown because business operators can't find the staff to open. If businesses can't operate profitably, the value of the real estate they lease can't be maintained. The effort to staff tourism connected businesses this Spring will be exceptionally challenging. Other cities have been actively recruiting prime service labor here for years, offering better transit, a lower cost of living and superior schools to young, healthy capable workers. 

We can continue to operate and improve our transit and build affordable housing in the Lowcountry. We should be doing a better job. However without federal funding, these efforts will end.

 You must call your Federal Representatives today, or better yet visit their local offices and let them know you can't hire people, earn income, pay rent or pay taxes without workers. 

For More Information 

about Best Friends and our 15 year effort to build, fund and protect better public transit in the SC Lowcountry

• Call Executive Director William Hamilton at (843) 870-5299 or email him at wjhamilton29464@gmail.com
• Follow us on Blue Sky at https://bsky.app/profile/wjhamilton29464.bsky.social
• Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BFLowcountryTransit

Opportunity in an Epidemic - Transit Funding in the Covd 19 Stimulus Bill

If you act now, we can get better transit here and complete our planned rapid transit years sooner that was previously possible.

A two trillion dollar Covid 19 bipartisan infrastructure stimulus bill is expected to be introduced in the US House or Representatives on April 20. Lowcountry Congressmen James Clyburn and Joe Cunningham are both working on it now and we’ve been in contact with their staff about transit. While the current draft of the bill wastes far too much money on sprawl inducing road construction, the bill could include the funding needed to improve public transit across the US.

Please sign and share our online petition calling for the 25 billion in transit funding for Covid 19 response already approved and the trillions of dollars in future funding be used, in part, to improve transit in the Lowcountry. https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-covid-19-infrastructure-recovery-act-funding-for-lowcountry-public-transit.html?fbclid=IwAR3KNfHFEYTc4HTgken8qJrRmKvxI3-SkC6hRNInKSUx2I2tpLPLTREIDfQ

We just got off a national teleconference with transit equity organizers in over 20 cities. We plan to complete preparation of materials and launch our advocacy effort on Wed. April 8.

This bill could improve the quality of life and mobilty for every American, build affordable housing and needed infrastructure to deal with sea level rise and climate change, all critical issues to the Lowcountry.
These investments should be controlled and owned by the public. However there are well organized forces trying to influence the bill that want to move the US to an ownership, equity, wealth creation model where our roads, transit systems and affordable housing are privately owned and publically subsidized without accountability or transparency to the citizens. They’ve been planning a privatized transportation system which eliminates public transit and public controlled roads with free public access  for years. You can read one such Typical call for privatization of public roads, transit and infrastructure, in Forbes Magazine- https://www.forbes.com/sites/waynecrews/2020/03/31/phase-4-coronavirus-infrastructure-spending-to-start-at-2-trillion/#421c178a7099

Please sign the petition now. We know it’s a detailed document, but elected representatives will only respect the informed and precise input of voters under emergency conditions. A meaningless make public transit better blurb will only obtain a meaningless we love public transit response. Details are the mother of ac-countably, demanded and delivered.

Please feel free to contact Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit with your ideas and input. Contact Executive director William Hamilton at (843) 870-5299 or by email at mailto:wjhamilton29464@gmail.com?subject=Public Transit in the Lowcountry

Transit and Climate Change in SC Lowcountry- Problems and Solutions

Our core issues relate to Climate Change in many ways, largely through human impacts.

Transit- Flooding disrupts transit service and salt water destroys transit vehicles. Hurricanes shut down the transit system resulting in lost farebox revenue and lost federal matching funds. Flooding can sever the north south tranist lines which run through the Charelston neck, making transit travel between Charelston and N. Chareleston impossible. Cars, which operate on elevated I26 do not have this problem. however the massive amount of traffic now running on Rivers Ave. and Sprull is diverted to I26 and detours through West Ashley, making on time operations impossible. Our system relies on transfers between infrequent service to function. Without keeping schedule, a trip of ten miles can take several hours and waiting often has to take place at unsheltered stops. Though county council committed 600 million of the half penny sales tax for improved transit, there have been some suggestions that the transit system be cancelled and the fund used to build a flood protection wall around wealthy homes in downtown Charleston. A provision allowing the half penny tax to be used for "drainage" was slipped into the referendum language secretly by County Council. At the time everyone thought that meant buidling and improving drainage along the road and transit system.

On the bright side any bus, full of passengers emits far less carbon for passenger mile. The Oldest CARTA bus, burning diesel at the rate of four miles per gallon transporting 50 passengers Operates at at a rate of 50 passenger miles per gallon. A single passenger vehicle, operating at 30 miles per gallon burns nearly twice the gas per passenger mile. CARTA has five electron Pro Terra buses on order.

Transit vehicles are also durable. Some CARTA buses have been in service since the Atlanta Olympics and are now over 20 years old, reducing the environmental impact of new vehicle construction.

Transit reduces the need for roads and parking lots, which absorb a lot of solar radiation and contribute to global warming. Since this temperature increase in concentrated in urban areas, this increase the energy demand for air conditioning. Hard surface roads and parking lots also contribute to flooding.

Floyd Manor Public Housing near planned Transit line

Affordable Housing- Hugo destroyed about 8 thousand low income housing units, mostly older wooden houses which often sheltered several families. these buildings had termite and rot problems and simply collapsed under the force of the wind. Several people were killed that way. The cost of rental housing went up drastically as wealthier people forced from their homes competed for the available apartments in the market. the large public housing project East of East Bay street near what is now the Aquarium was flooded and later leveled. Condos for the wealthy, elevated above anticipated flood levels now stand there.Homeless people are very vulnerable in hurricanes and even rain flooding. Many live under bridges or in low lying areas. Since Tent City was cleared, most homeless people now live in mobile micro camps and reaching them with warnings and evacuation assistance is very unreliable. The loss of affordable housing in the city due to flooding and hurricane damage reduces the population of people who use transit, meaning lost ridership and cancellation of routes and service.

Tent City, Charleston, 2016

Transit makes it possible for people seeking lower housing costs to choose from more options in more areas and to have more power in negotiating rent costs. Housing is more affordable when a family does not have the burden of supporting a car. 30% of the cost of the new apartment buildings being constructed in Charleston is devoted to the cost of parking structures and lots. Parking lots and structures could be better used as housing or open space.

The planned Bus Rapid Transit line promised to begin operating in 2025 will open large areas for the creation of dense, walk able communities where residents will be able to walk, or in some cases ride the elevator to their local transit stop. We've been involved in the effort to build such a community on the site of the old naval hospital for two years.

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Living Wage- Hurricane Dorian cost the local tourism industry over 50 million dollars, including 10s of millions of dollars in wages and tips which were not earned. Workers will still have to pay the high rents Charleston demands.  (there is some public assistance available for that purpose from FEMA)  Dorian  was the third nearly week long shut down of our tourism industry in 12 months. The Snow storm and the 2018 hurricane also took place in the previous 12 months. Low wage workers are often required to work instead of evacuate. SC is a right to work space and they know they can be fired for any reason or no reason at all.

Transit helps riders save money. Parking downtown now costs about $20 a day. The new HOP lot reduces that to $5 per 24 hours and connects people with a fast shuttle ride into the city. Getting more people to ride improved bus services all the way from their homes would be even better for the environment. Parking lots are far from free. the new park and ride facility in N. Charleston cost about $3 million dollars or about 10 thousand dollars per space.

Benne Initiative - Improve life for CHS F&B and Hospitality Workers

State Rep., Chef JA MooreUpdate

New- Meetup, Tues. Oct. 22

JA Moore (image left) worked his way up from the back of the House, to the front of the house to the South Carolina State House.
Help the first professional Chef elected to the SC Legislature improve transit and affordable housing for Food, Beverage and Hospitality Workers by supporting the Benne Initiative. Come to his leadership meetup to help plan the campaign for more affordable housing and better transit in the Lowcountry. The meetup will happen on Tuesday, Oct. 22 from 6 pm to 7:30 at his new Catering Kitchen and Event Space at 3353 Meeting Street Rd., N. CharLeston, SC 29405, Signup to become a Benne Initiative Leader at the meetup on Facebook.

More information & Event Registration
https://tinyurl.com/bennefandb
Or contact Rep. JA Moore
Legislature (803) 212-6890
Business Phone (843) 640-0130

Our Mission

Food, Beverage and Hospitality workers are the backbone of our economy and should have a secure and valued place in our community.
Benne will work to make sure future transit and its associated planning and development for affordable housing offer a higher quality of life, more disposable income and security for the more than 20 thousand people working in Food, Beverage and Hospitality careers here.

Watch JA Moore's Video on the Benne Initiative on YouTube. He's the first professional Chef ever elected to the SC State Legislature and he leads the effort.

You can contact Rep. Moore through his legislative contact page. You can use this page to find your State Senator or Representative.

The Benne Initiative takes its name from the Benne seed, a food grain brought from Africa with it’s people to become part of Lowcountry culture . The benne seed is used to make the traditional benne seed wafer served to guests as a symbol of Lowcountry Hospitality and good luck.

The Benne Initiative kicked off with a fundraising Breakfast prepared by Rep. Moore at the Mellow Mushroom in N. Charleston on Feb. 4, 2019 (Transit Equity Day, the birthday of Rosa Parks). Special thanks to Julie Hussey and the SC AFL CIO for sponsoring tables for F&B workers and activists who wanted to attend. Thanks to the hard working staff and management of the Mellow Mushroom for their kind support.

Our Current Goals

Things move rapidly in Transportation, Community Planning and Hospitalty, so check back here for changes.

Rep. JA Moore in the Kitchen preparing the Feb. 4 Breakfast

1. Pass the Five Transit Improvement bills into state law introduced by Representatives Pendavis & Moore to improve transit, provide save “Complete Streets” for travel to and from work on foot, by bike and by transit and to facilitate creation of Affordable housing along the planned rapid transit line.  Read the details on all five bills and check how they are progressing towards becoming law.
2. Make sure plans for redevelopment of the old Navy Hospital site include affordable housing as part of a mixed use, transit oriented development. Hospitality workers who choose to can afford to rent or owe their home a short transit commute from their work without the need for a car. Allow them to save 8 thousand dollars a year or more of their income so they can have a higher quality of life.  For those who choose to drive, less traffic congestion and competition for parking.  Read the Op Ed column published in the Chronicle about by Rep. Marvin Pendarvis.

3. 

   Carol Dotterer explains plans for Rapid Transit Line

   Work for the accelerated planning and construction of the rapid transit line funded by Charleston County Voters in Nov. 2016 linking Summerville, Lincolnville, Ladson, N. Charleston, the Nexk and Charleston and work to see that work on a branch reaching Goose Creek is started. In planning, push to be sure the needs of our Food, Beverage and Hospitality workers are recognized as part of a changing economic and social landscape here, different from the Lowcountry's historical realities of a generation ago.
4. Improve regular, existing bus service in urban and suburban areas so F,B&H workers can connect home, work and the other parts of their lives. Support the existing HOP bus service and help it build ridership.

See a our map of how the proposed system ought to work.  Watch a video about How Bus Rapid Transit works in other cities.

Support Progress

Volunteer- We work throughout the Lowcountry from rural areas to urban ones with supporters ranging from the homeless to major corporations. Hospitality workers are some of our best volunteers. Limited paid work is available. Email William Hamilton to get involved.
Donate- We're a 501c3 Non profit. The Coastal Community Foundation acts as our financial sponsor and administers our funds. You can contribute to us through them.
Spread the Word- Join our mailing list. You can Follow us on Facebook. Get our Tweets on Twitter. Download and distribute this printable PDF Flyer on our Work