Archive for the ‘riders’ Category

Transit advocates demonstrate against planned CARTA service cuts on May 1, 2012 in Charleston, SCPublic Transit Advocates from the Hungryneck Straphangers and other groups will conduct a demonstration and public information outreach efforts in May to stop the planned CARTA service cuts.

May is the time to stand up in support of functional public transit in the Charleston area and against the planned 5% cut in CARTA services.  Links are to facebook signups.   You can sign the onlne petition to stop the cuts now.

• Attend the Tuesday, May 8, City of Charleston Council meeting at City Hall at 80 Broad Street at 5 pm to present letters, signed petitions and speak during the public comment period.  Public comment is generally held later in the meeting, so don’t worry about getting there late.  Transit Directions from N. Charleston to Charleston City Hall.
• Listen to Morning Buzz on WTMA AM 1250 at 8 am for discussion segment on Fighting the CARTA cuts.
• Demonstrate at Superstop on Wednesday, May9, hand out information and collect petition signatures at the bus stops around the intersection of Rivers and Cosgrove Avenues in North Charleston, SC from 3 pm to 5:30.  This is the system’s busiest stop and we’re sure to reach hundreds of people.  Transit Directions to Superstop from Downtown for that day and time.
• Plan to attend the Wednesday, May 16 CARTA Board Meeting at 2 pm at the Lonnie Hamilton County Office Building to present petitions and letters and well as to speak during the public comment period.

Full details and links to facebook signups with access to Google Transit Trip Planning for each time and location can be found at www.eastccrider.com or be obtained by calling (843) 870-5299.

This demonstrations are planned to raise community awareness about planned 5% service cuts to the CARTA system, which has achieved record ridership of over 425,895 riders as of March 2012 (an increase of 15.84% over first quarter 2011), reflecting the growing need for functional public transit to serve people working in the region’s hospitality and medical industries where wages are often not high enough to support ownership and operation of an automobile.  A report released in March proposes cutting routes and service to reduce costs.  CARTA is already one of the most efficient transit systems in the US and charges some of the highest fares in the Southeast, recovering on of the nation’s highest percentages of the cost of operation from the farebox. 34.57% .  The system made major cuts in service in 2010 and smaller ones a year later, including loss of night bus service essential to allowing restaurant and medical workers to return home after work.

Information and reports on the first demonstration, held May 1 can be found at http://busec.org/fighting-the-carta-cuts-consolidating-resistance/

“It’s time for the Charleston region to accept the reality that our cost of living, geography and economy require us to have a functional public transit system to serve the needs of workers, students and tourists.  If we have a quarter of a billion dollars for an Expressway on Johns Island, 12 million dollars to renovate a WWII destroyer and 150 million dollars for airport improvements, it is well within our region’s capacity to find the modest amount of funds to provide reliable bus service for those who need it to make the service sector of our local economy work for everyone.”  According to William Hamilton, coordinator of the Hungryneck Straphangers, an independent public transit advocacy group from East of the Cooper.

Background Information & Documents

• Younger Americans are driving less, Taking Transit More- http://www.uspirg.org/reports/usp/transportation-and-new-generation
• Continue the Progress Proposal from East Cooper CARTA Riders https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=10aqryEpXpgNjXKQTVBwQlFtoJrjicHLbiY2hhR2ImlI
• Much misinformation about pay for bus drivers has been circulating.  Starting pay for a CARTA Bus Driver is $9.81 per hour and increases with seniority to $17.86 and hour after over a decade of service.  Many drivers get only one day of vacation and two days of sick leave per year.  Many work “split shifts” driving during the morning, taking a forced 2-4 hour time off the clock and then driving again in the evening.  Others are required to work overtime.  Bus drives must pass tests, have a CDV license and a clean criminal record
• Proposed CARTA Five Year Plan http://www.ridecarta.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Agenda_Board_2012_0418_Part-3-of-4.pdf
• April 2012 CARTA Ridership and Financial Report http://www.ridecarta.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Agenda_Board_2012_0418_Part-2-of-41.pdf

Thanks for your interest in the CARTA #401 East Cooper Connector, which serves the Medical Complex around East Cooper Hospital, the Senior Citizens Center and James B. Edwards Elementary School. We’ll be doing a people to people transit canvass with help from the Moultrie Middle School Beta Club, distributing information on local transit at the Medical complex on Friday, March 30. This page gives you links to the relevant online content and services.

CARTA 401 East Cooper Connector Bus

Online Trip Planning- Trips on this and most other CARTA Routes connecting to locations throughout Charleston County can now be planned using Google Maps Transit which will automatically generate itineraries and maps which can be printed out or emailed to patients, customers, and family.  Here is a sample trip planned using this service from East Cooper Hospital to Downtown Charleston.  It’s easy to generate and print out a trip plan for a patient or costumer who wants to go home on the bus.

Detailed questions about the route can be answered by calling CARTA customer services.  (843) 747-0922 or William Hamilton of East Cooper CARTA Riders (843) 870-5299.  You can also see the main official CARTA Website for regional information, www.ridecarta.com.  

Bus Service to the Medical Complex- The East Cooper Connector #401 bus stops at East Cooper Hospital once an hour between 7:27 am and 7:27 pm on weekdays with stops at the Senior Center, Just north of Hospital drive near the Intersection of Von Kolnitz Rd.  and at the front entrance to the new Hospital. The bus runs 8:27 am to 7:27 pm on Saturdays. It doesn’t run on Sunday.  After stopping at the Hospital, it continues on to Whipple Road, Belle Hall, Long Point Road, Six Mile, Hungryneck Blvd. Town Centre, Trident Tech., Sea Island Shopping Center, Coleman Blvd., Waterfront Park, Wingo Way, Houston Northcutt and Mount Pleasant Town Hall.

After Town Hall it returns to the Medical Center via Coleman Blvd., Rifle Range Road, and Bowman Road. It stops at Mount Pleasant movie theaters, major shopping centers, restaurants and both major hotel clusters.  See our detailed web page on the #401 East Cooper Connector

Connections to Other Routes- The East Cooper Connector Bus connects on both Hungryneck Blvd. near BI-LO and on Houston Northcutt near Harris Teeter with the #40 trans Mount Pleasant bus which runs between Wando High School and Downtown Charleston. It connects to the #402 bus to the beach and the C203 Tri County Links Bus running to McClellenville and Awendaw.  Overview page on all East Cooper Bus Routes

This bus can assist patients and families who need to get to the medical complex or would like to leave the area for a stress free trip to their hotel, shopping, entertainment or downtown.  You can download and print this information card for customers and patients.

Discount bus passes for 3 days or a month, with huge savings for unlimited use of the system can be purchased at Kmart on Bowman Road, Sea Island Piggly Wiggley & the Visitor’s Center at Mount Pleasant Waterfront Memorial Park, all of which are on the #401 route.  Passes are also now available online.

Route Status- CARTA Bus Routes are periodically reviewed for ridership performance. The #401 is currently not meeting targets. If this route does not reach targets, it can be cancelled. If ridership increases. the route can achieve permanent status and qualify for bus stop improvements such as benches and shelters. Improved ridership also creates the opportunity to extend hours or increase frequency.  It has been put up for review by the CARTA route review board.  Action on the route may happen over the summer.

East Cooper Connector Bus Crossing Shem Creek

Thanks to the Moultrie Middle School Beta Club for Assisting East Cooper CARTA Riders in distributing this information at the medical comples.   Transit is a trip we make together.  Efforts like this East of the Cooper have put over 4000 more riders per month on our transit system in the past year, which an increase in ridership on our main #40 route of over 30%.  With your help we can build the #401 East Cooper Connector into a useful and used part of our growing transit system, helping patients, family, friends, and employees get to and from the care and services they need.  Please let your customers and patients know about this important transit service so it will continue to be available to the entire community.

Disclaimer- East Cooper CARTA Riders is an independent rider’s advocacy organization not associated with Charleston Area Regional Transit Authority (CARTA).  We are devoted to improving the quality of public transit services East of the Cooper.  We are independent of and do not represent CARTA and statements made on this website and in our materials  reflect the opinions of our organization.

Improved Bus Stop at Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, SC has slab, bench.

After a year of long effort by Linda Page, the Town of Mt. Pleasant and Wando High School, our community’s most important institution has an improved bus stop.  It’s getting plenty of use.  As the Eastern most stop on the CARTA system, it serves both students and people in the area who are often dropped off by family to catch the bus to downtown.  The improved stop has a comfortable bench and  slab to keep everyone out of the dirt, mud weeds and ants.  Seven riders boarded during a stop there yesterday.  The students said the school is actively promoting the use of CARTA.  These students had been able to stay after school for sports, tutoring and club activities instead of immediately boarding the school bus after the last bell for a ride home.

Full information about the #40 Trans Mount Pleasant route, running between Wando HS and the Mary Street Transit Center in Downtown Charleston.  This route connects to the #401 East Cooper Connector for trips to other parts of Mt. Pleasant and the #402 Island Flex for trips to the Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island..

Online Trip Planning Now Functional

Transit trip planning can now be done online, automatically on Google Transit.   This can be accessed through the mapping functions of most Android Phones, I phones, the Ipad mapping and navigation ap, the www.ridecarta.com website and through Google Transit.  Note that the #402 Island Flex bus has not yet been included into the system but that service is still running.  We’ve contacted both CARTA and our board members about that issue.

The system has huge advantages even for experienced riders.  If you have a smart phone or internet access, you really don’t need paper maps and schedules any longer.  they system provides walking directions to the nearest stop and multiple options for your trip.  In areas like North Charleston and Downtown where there are several routes, much faster trips may be possible than someone would plan using paper maps utilizing transfers and connections the rider might not be aware exist.  Even if you have been riding the system for years, you should check out some possible trips.  If you don’t ride the bus, this system can be of great use when friends or family need a ride since you can find a bus trip for them which brings them close to your location, then go pick them up.  In areas where this system has been deployed, ridership has increased by as much as 20%.  In addition to being a sought product online, Google offers transit directions to anywhere located in Google Places as an option.

Parents of students attending school in Mount Pleasant will have the opportunity to gain back some personal time while saving money and gasoline thanks to CARTA’s new East Cooper Route System this fall.

The biggest beneficiary will be Wando High School, to which the #40 bus line was extended last Spring. The CARTA #40, a full sized bus running all the way from the Visitor’s Center in Downtown Charleston to Wando along Highway 17, stops at Wando throughout the day and well into the evening, arriving at 35 minutes after the hour and departing at 38 minutes after the hour.

It gives hundreds of students who otherwise couldn’t get a ride home an opportunity to enjoy extracurricular activities, participate in sports and receive after school tutoring.

Efforts are being made to improve the stop at Wando (as well as other stops across Mount Pleasant) under the leadership of town council and CARTA board members Linda Page and Thomasena Stokes Marshall. At present the stop consists only of a sign and can be found about 50 feet from the Tomahawk Trail entrance to the Wando Campus on Carolina Park Boulevard. The bus stops there every hour from 6:38 a.m. to 8:38 p.m.

Efforts for a bench and possibly even a shelter are in the works.You can get full information on all the CARTA routes in the East Cooper area online at www.eastccrider.com. The $1.75 bus fare is a bargain measured against the time and cost of a trip to Wando in an automobile.

Our community’s new East Cooper Connector #401 route serves most of the other schools in our community and connects to the #40 at Mount Pleasant Town Centre and Houston Northcutt, giving students mobility all over our community.

The connector bus stops at Moultrie Middle School and the current Laing Campus at the old Wando High School Building. It goes by Belle Hall Elementary School, James B. Edwards Elementary School and the current location of Sullivan’s Island Elementary at the old Whitesides Campus as well. The campus of the University School of the Lowcountry and Stella Marris are right on the route.

Transit advocates from East Cooper CARTA Riders and other organizations continue to work on locating a stop which would serve the Schools in Park West and that community as well.

Both routes pass very close to the new Trident Tech campus opening in Mount Pleasant this fall.

While the East Cooper CARTA riders and official CARTA websites have valuable information, there is no substitute for riding the route to find out what the bus can do for you.

Find a stop near where you live, bring the modest fare and an hour later, you will know where your route of interest goes.

An additional transfer fee of 30 cents allows you to move from one route to the other, enabling for instance a ride from Sea Island Shopping Center to Downtown Charleston.

Don’t forget our wonderful #402 Island Flex Bus, which is providing CARTA services to the beaches on the Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island.

My recent trip to Ireland introduced me to that country’s excellent bus system, which complements their delightful rail network. Every stop in Ireland we used had a shelter, important in the damp climate. Local buses had drivers who made change. The double Decker buses provided wonderful views in town. Commuter buses connected nearby towns and long distance buses were operating on routes running several times a day between major towns and cities. The bus to Blarney Castle from Cork ran at least once an hour. There was a special service from Cork to the Ferry Terminal. All of these services operated from and connected at clean, bright stations with staffed ticketing facilities withing walkable distance of the center of town.

We’re a long way from a system like that in Charleston, but we’re lucky to be one of only a few communities in South Carolina which has any public transit system at all. The need is clearly here.

Models for better service and facilities can be found around the world. The determined efforts of our CARTA board representatives from East Cooper have been commendable.

Ridership on East Cooper’s Routes has been increasing with the #40 showing a massive uptick in usage of 16.17 percent.

This fall we can decrease the traffic on our roads, give time back to family and empower our kids using our new CARTA route system to help students get home following after school activities.

William Hamilton (www.wjhamilton.com) is an attorney and coordinates the East Cooper CARTA Riders www.eastccrider.com.

This stop serves both the #40 Trans Mount Pleasant (Inbound to Charleston) and serves as the end of the line stop for the #401 East Cooper Connector CARTA Bus Lines.

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Andrew Porcher ran into William Hamilton while he was doing a survey ride from Wando High School to Downtown on the #40 Trans Mount Pleasant on Tuesday, May 26. While this video clip was recorded on a noisy bus rolling down Highway 17 towards work, Andrew’s message is clear. He’s glad CARTA extended the #40 to his community, there are some improvements that need to be made but we’re going somewhere together.

If you have your own ideas or input, contact us using our feedback page. All material about system performance or rider needs is shared with our East Cooper CARTA Board Representatives and in extreme situations with the entire board.

We’ll see you on the bus.

Insert picture with lighthouse on this one

Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 10:00am
Isle of Palms Beach, Sullivans Island & Mt. Pleasant Town..