Bus stop for 40 on Hungryneck adjacent to BI-LO near Town Centre.  This may not be an official stop, but it is one of the most actively used in Mount Pleasant.

Everyone interested in building a better bus stop for the CARTA 40 bus which stops between the CVS Pharmacy and Bank, near the BI-LO is asked to attend a drop in meeting at Collective Coffee on Wednesday, May 22 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Jessica Jurs will be here to make coffee and espresso drinks for anyone who would like to order. Collective Coffee is located in the BI-LO Plaza at 766 S Shelmore Blvd Mt Pleasant, SC 29464.

We’ll try for some structured, open group discussion about 6 pm, when hopefully we’ll have a group on hand.

We’ve been gathering community support for this effort for several months and are happy to announce we have Architects, Engineers, Masonry Suppliers, Construction Foremen, Artists and Craftsman ready to build a shelter which will be Americans with Disabilities Act Compliant, Hurricane Resistant, Durable and a comfortable waiting are for six people. It will be lit off the grid and enabled with features which will allow you to use your smart phone or internet connected device to plan your bus trip or tell when the bus is coming using CARTA’s new bus tracker system.

If you have ideas or have seen something you like, bring pictures printed off the internet.  It will really help advance the process.  If we have more good ideas than we need, there are places all over Mount Pleasant where better bus stops are needed and other communities interested in working on bus stop improvements.

We don’t have a design yet.  When we do, several stakeholders and government agencies will have to approve it. We’re hoping for an effort which not only produces a wonderful place to wait, but a model which can be replicated across the East Cooper Community. For full updates, check back here or call William Hamilton at 843-870-5299.

You can download a printable flyer for this May 22 meeting to help engage the community.

If you would like to help hand these flyers out on the buses to other riders, a very powerful way to encourage transit riders to vote, please call William Hamilton at (843) 870-5299.

Voters have the opportunity to choose between Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D) and Mark Sanford (R).  If you have trouble getting to the polls, either campaign will be happy to arrange a ride to the polls for you Monday (for early voting) or Tuesday.

• Colbert Busch- http://colbertbuschforcongress.com/welcome/
• Sanford- http://www.marksanford.com/home/

This is the view of Charleston thousands of train passengers passing through our derelict N. Charleston Station see.

Many riders have asked how this election is relevant to the quality of public transit we have in the Lowcountry.  The answer is that even basic services like transit are now under constant threat.  While large, well organized lobbies exist for the oil,  automotive and highway construction industry, the thirty million transit riders have only begun organizing themselves into a national political force in the past year, when Congress slashed Transit funding from 20 to 18 percent of the Federal Transportation Budget.  This triggered massive cuts in service across the United States.

What Poor Transit Systems are doing to the Lowcountry

For the people who depend on transit, a number which rose by 6% across the country last year, such cuts have drastic, even lethal effects.  Riders making long walks home form now distant transit stops get hit by cars or become victims of crime.  The elderly find themselves stranded as they age on Daniel Island.  Those who lose their car, often then lose everything.  They can’t ride the bus for a few weeks, scraping up the money for repairs while keeping their job.  I’ve met successful people in Charleston who have confided in me that when they lost their car to a run of bad luck, the bus helped them rebuild their lives.  Some are wealthy today.

Organizers from Americans for Transit and the ATU leafleted the riders going on the Dorchester Express bus in Summerville

In places like Beaufort, where the bus runs only to and from work once a day, entire lives are wasted with people left to do little more than work, wait and sleep.  Shopping, civic and cultural activities are out of reach for people living on St. Helena Island an other rural communities.  ”Going on the Bus” in Beaufort is viewed as a sort of living death in many rural communities   Younger residents would rather leave, so they take their energy and talent elsewhere.  Those who stay and ride have few options for spending their hard earned money.

Even for those who drive, the highway system has reached a point where it’s so large it can no longer be adequately maintained or further expanded with existing revenue.  Younger people are giving up on the automobile altogether in increasing numbers.  It just costs too much and takes up too much time.  Throughout our public information campaign, Republicans and Democrats have both told us they want better transit.

The Congressman elected Tuesday will be the point person for all Federal involvement with local transit issues in the district.  Fixing the problems with the long delayed intermodal center, making sure basic funding remains available, or helping replace some of our aging fleet of transit buses requires a Congressman’s support.  We asked both candidates to ride.  Colbert Busch rode the #41.  Sanford never took a ride on a bus.  We asked both candidates to answer two, relevant but simple questions.  Colbert Busch answered.  Sanford didn’t.  Five Republicans did ride the bus: Moffly, Turner, Larkin, Hoffman & Bryant.  Both candidates received phone calls from many riders asking them to ride and answer.  You can read Colbert Busch’s full answers on the Flyer PDF.  The flyer also provides contact information for the Sanford campaign so you can try to find out what his position is.

Please vote carefully on Tuesday.  It was only eight years ago that CARTA resumed full operations after a disastrous two year near shut down.  People died because the buses stopped running.  We can argue about art in government buildings or how much Ft. Moultrie should be open, but when transit gets cut people lose their jobs, their families and sometimes their lives.

Three US Congress Candidates stand in the rain during the “Ride in the Rain” on Feb. 7

Transit is only one of several important issues in this election, but it touches on the core controversy of our time.  Are we building a society which offers dignity and freedom to more people or are we building a society which concentrates power and wealth in the hands of a few?  Real wealth requires a shared prosperity which has to include opportunities to travel, change jobs, shop, learn and enjoy our golden years for most people.  Even those fortunate enough to be wealthy benefit from customers who can travel, employees who can get to work, patients who can access medial care before it requires an EMS trip, fellow citizens who participate in civic and cultural life and tourists who can enjoy our coast.

Free Markets, Competitive Economies

Free markets mean nothing to an elderly woman stranded on St. Helena Island who can’t get to a store.  If we don’t have transit services which meet these needs, many capable people will relocate to, travel to or invest in other places which do.  I’ve met gifted young people in Portland, Seattle and New York from South Carolina building lives which are rewarding without cars who left South Carolina and have no intention of returning. It wasn’t just about transit, but they abandoned their cars, built lives and they swear they’re not coming back. In the intensely competitive future, SC needs such talent and skill.

On Tuesday, vote like someone’s life depends on it, because it does.

You can support this effort by downloading this flyer and distributing copies  inviting Daniel Island Residents to attend this meeting.  A Hungryneck Straphangers outreach team will also be working on Daniel Island prior to the meeting.  Volunteers would be appreciated.  if you need more flyers or posters to promote the meeting, the UPS Store on Daniel Island has the electronic files to print them for you.  We’re a small, volunteer organization and rely on community support like this to make our projects work.  Please help by paying to print a few and share them with your neighbors.

Transit advocates from Hungryneck Straphangers and will meet with stakeholders in the Daniel Island Community about bringing more extensive public transit services to the community there.  We’ll attempt a Skype call with Americans for Transit. After the formal meeting, we’ll gather at the Daniel Island Grill patio for dinner and more discussion.  If you can’t make the meeting, feel free to join us at the Grill for informal discussion.

An outreach team from Americans for Transit visited Daniel Island earlier in April and met for breakfast at the Honeycomb Cafe.  Afterwards two teams visited people on the island with information about transit and the Congressional election.  It became clear from the feedback the canvassers received that the Island wanted and was now able to support a transit development campaign.  Among the people participating in that canvass was Andrew Austin, Executive Director of Americans for Transit.

On April 25, William Hamilton and CARTA Driver Debbie Geise distributed door hanger bags at over one hundred homes and businesses on Daniel Island and met with residents at the Farmers Market.  Nearly all feedback was positive.  The Daniel Island News printed a story on the effort: Group Seeks to Bring Public Transit to DI

Existing Services and Planning Activities on Daniel Is. Transit

• Tri County Link has limited service through Daniel Island now   It runs from Moncks Corner to Mount Pleasant, connecting with the Express 2 and 40 Mount Pleasant at Kmart on Johnnie Dodds Blvd.
• A route connecting Daniel Island, N. Charleston and Mount Pleasant was one of four options considered in a consultant’s report prepared for CARTA in Oct. 2012,  You’ll find the Daniel Island route option on page 9 of the report.
• Last summer, Hungryneck Straphangers  included a proposal for Daniel Island which we submitted to CARTA.  It was one of several options considered and we feel the effort to improve transit connections for the community is moving closer to success.  You can view our N. Charleston to the Beach proposal as a PDF.  The Daniel Island part is on page two.
• The Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester Council of Governments is working on a new plan for regional transportation now, and will be holding public hearings.  You can sign up for notices and look at their material at http://www.bcdcog.com/transportationPlanning.htm
• Hungryneck Straphangers began work on getting improved transit service to Daniel Island and Cainhoy over two years ago, under the leadership of DI resident Kurt Khelenbeck (who has sinced moved to Mt. Pleasant.).  At the meeting we’ll be looking for a core group of volunters to cotinue this important work.

For more information see www.busec.org/di or call William Hamilton (843) 870-5299

“The Battle for Buses in Beaufort” is a unique project with the dual purposes of focusing attention on the need to turn out to vote in the May 7 Special 1st Congressional District Election, and of building community support for increased state and federal funding for affordable public transportation across the Lowcountry.

It’s one of a series of ”Farebox to Ballot Box

Organizers from Americans for Transit and the ATU leafleted the riders going on the Dorchester Express bus in Summerville

” events being held from Apr. 15 to May 6 that range from distribution of voter information cards about 1st Congressional District candidates positions on public transit and voter outreach at bus stops to absentee voting via public transit.

“The Battle for Buses in Beaufort” will kick-off at 6 a.m., on Friday, Apr. 19, at the Palmetto Breeze Terminal in Bluffton, which is located at 25 Benton Field Rd., near the intersection of Burnt Church and Ulmer roads.

Volunteers will handout flyers about the upcoming 1st Congressional District election and 1st Congressional District public transportation funding needs to pre-dawn Palmetto Breeze riders from Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Colleton, and Allendale counties, who use the regional public bus system to get to their jobs in Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, according to Atty. William J. Hamilton, III, President of the Hungryneck Straphangers.

“We ride standing up–and we won’t sit down until Beaufort County has better public transportation,” says Hamilton, whose transit riders’ group is co-sponsoring Friday’s Bluffton events with Americans for Transit, the Amalgamated Transit Drivers Union, and the Charleston Chapter of the S.C. Progressive Network.

CARTA Coleman Blvd. 41 Bus at Start of Route, Charleston Visitor’s Center, Express bus arriving from N. Charleston

Friday’s “Battle for Buses in Beaufort” events also include discussions with local businesses whose employees use or could benefit from the use of public transportation, and local residents who want to see expanded public bus service.

A lunch meeting of volunteers is also being planned for 1 p.m. at the Golden Corral, in addition to a return to the Palmetto BreezeTerminal to pass out flyers to afternoon bus riders.

“Today (Apr. 17) we reached over 5,000 voters in Charleston, and they will be turning out to vote on May 7,” Hamilton said of Wednesday’s all day “We Ride, We Care, We Will Vote” outreach to Charleston Area Regional Transit Authority bus riders at bus stops and businesses.

Public transportation advocates invited all 18 1st Congressional District candidates on the March 19 Republican and Democratic primary ballots to ride public transit, and to answer questions about their positions on public transit and funding for the proposed Passenger Intermodal Transit Center in North Charleston.

But only Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, a Republicans Elizabeth Moffaly, Teddy Turner, Robert Hoffman, Ric Bryant, and Tim Larkin and Green Larry Carter Center rode the bus.

Former Gov. Mark Sanford, who’ll face off against Colbert Busch for the 1st District seat on May 7, has steadfastly declined to ride the bus–despite seven e-mail and in-person requests, according to updates and photos available at http://tinyurl.com/votetransit.

Republican Candidates Moffley and Larken boarding the 40 Mount Pleasant Bus

“This is an important effort,” Beaufort County Democratic Party Chairman Blaine Lotz told Beaufort County Democrats in an e-mail urging them to support “The Battle for Buses in Beaufort.” Lotz invited Hamilton to make a presentation about the event at the Apr. 12 BCDP Executive Committee.

“Affordable public transportation is one the most crucial needs in Beaufort County–and has been for years,” says Northern Beaufort County Democratic Club President Theresa White.

“Not having reliable transportation keeps too many people from getting the jobs and education that would improve their quality of life,” explained White, who plans to attend all the “Battle for Buses in Beaufort” events.

Contact: Theresa White, President

Extensive drainage, landscaping, paving and sidewalks have been installed at the Intermodal center site in N. Charleston.

Dave Crossly of Hungryneck Straphangers has agreed to lead a study group on this problem with the assistance of Larry Carter Center.  Meetings and events will be listed on our Straphanger’s Calendar.  The group will conduct an independent rider’s oriented investigation of what has happened and prepare to make sure that rider input is included as the process moves forward.  At this time, we have no conclusions to offer.

The reason cited for this is an alleged problem with construction of the necessary railroad siding at the original location.  Years of planning and millions of dollars have already been spent on this location.  Drainage, parking and landscaping are already constructed.  You can see a photo album of the Intermodal Passenger Transportation Center site in N. Charleston.

You may read details in this article in the Charleston Post and Courier:  CARTA Plan to Purchase Amtrak Station Derailed

Since I am not a railroad engineer, I can’t evaluate the seriousness of the problem alleged to exist at the original site.  Most of you are familiar with the current Amtrak station.  Last week we learned that there may be a serious crime problem in the area which preys on train passengers.  We will be requesting information from the North Charleston Police Department to determine if those rumors are true.  CARTA drivers also inform us that there are serious problems getting buses to and from a bus transit hub at that location due to difficulty of making a left hand turn across two lanes of traffic, up an incline and over two railroad tracks in a distance of 30 feet in a full sized bus.  The grade crossing there is also often blocked by trains.

View of South end of station platform, Amtrak station, N. Charleston, SC

We have a photo album of the current 1950s era Amtrak Station in N. Charleston, which despite its horrific condition, has some wonderful staff who would love to help you go railroading.  If you’ve always flown, you don’t know what you are missing.

It’s deeply disturbing that these discussions have gone on behind closed doors for more than a year while input from bus and train passengers and drivers was never requested.  A transparent, detailed public exploration of what may or may not have happened here is in order.  Our community is investing tens of thousands of dollars in a major, new transportation study now.  Progress is impossible when mistakes like this are made and public confidence in planning is eroded.

South End of Amtrak Station, N. Charleston, SC. Much of the station building is unused.

We have contacted the Federal Transit Administration and expressed our concern.  Amy Bernstein, informed us that our input should be directed towards our representatives in Congress.

Fortunately both locations are in James Clyburn’s District, where we have a sitting Congressman to work with.  You can contact Congressman Clyburn at https://clyburn.house.gov/contact-me

However we have no current Congressman in SC District 1, which includes most of the Charleston area.  We’re currently preparing to elect a new congressman in the 1^st. District. We requested their thoughts on this issue last week.  Elizabeth Colbert Busch responded on Friday and we’ll be revealing her answer a week from today at the April 15 meeting of the SC Progressive Network at the International Longshoreman’s Hall at 8 pm (the meeting starts at 7 and everyone’s welcome.

Former Governor Sanford did not responded, but we invite all riders to contact his campaign with your input on this issue.  Information about how to contact both campaigns can be found at www.busec.org/vote

This gatehouse is the only structure on the N. Charleston Passenger Intermodal Center Site

South End of Amtrak Station, N. Charleston, SC. Much of the station building is unused.

Next week we’ll begin the region’s first major modern Transit Riders Voter information campaign, distributing 15 thousand information cards in the Charleston area and Beaufort.  We’re looking for volunteers who like to ride and talk to people.  Please contact me at wjhamilton29464@gmail.com if you are interested in helping make sure things like the Intermodal Center planning problem don’t keep getting repeated while highway projects go on regardless of the cost or issues which may arise.  It’s time for a uniform, higher standard of transportation planning to apply to all taxpayer funded mobility projects.

CARTA Coleman Blvd. 41 Bus at Start of Route, Charleston Visitor’s Center

People who don’t ride buses, don’t get this.  We do.  It’s revolutionary for a lot of reasons.

Without the Wait and Wonder

If you want to take the wait and wonder out of transit, now you can.  If you like chilling at the Mary Street Transit Center, Superstop or those concrete benches on Houston Northcut near Mt. Pleasant town hall, that is your choice.  We’ll meet you there sixty seconds before the bus arrives.

First, you use Google Maps to plan your trip.  The age of fighting maps with different scales and uncoordinated landmarks, doing the math and guesswork on the schedules, going to your stop and wondering when your bus will arrive and sometimes getting lost are now over for anyone with internet access or a smart phone.  If you do don’t paperless, make sure you have the new Schedules for the 40 Mount Pleasant Bus and 41 Coleman Blvd. Bus  issued on Feb. 2013.

Second, Get somewhere near your stop and fire up Bus Tracker on your tablet or smartphone and wait somewhere comfortable for the bus to get in range.  You can click the green refresh link every few minutes to get an updated time until your bus arrives.  The system is still a bit bumpy.  Sometimes you have to scroll down a list of every bus stop in the CARTA system, but it often switches to a list of just the stops on your route.  You need to select the route for the direction your traveling in, East West or North South.  Once you have the route and stop in, in a few seconds you get a list of the next three times a bus is expected at your stop.

If you don’t have a smart phone and you ride the bus, go buy a used one for fifty bucks now.  A two year old model will work fine.  Get an Android phone if you can, an Iphone if you think you have to.  Android’s Google Maps driven transit navigation is clearly superior to Apple’s options.  (I own both an Android phone and an Apple Ipad.)  Apple omitted transit services from it’s new OS last year and got fierce resistance from transit riders around the world before putting it back in.  Google is clearly committed to serving the transit rider.  Transit riders are going to the future on the bus with Google. Iphone owners are going to Starbucks to sip Mochas and fret over their credit card balances.

CARTA 40 Bus stopped inbound at Mount Pleasant Hospital, near Wando High School.

Veolia Shadow means more than knowing when your bus is going to arrive at a stop.  Veolia now knows where every bus on the CARTA system is in real time, it’s on time status, speed and direction.  All of this can be sorted by route, driver and location.  Anything which is late gets flagged automatically.  It’s a laser guided system to making on time the standard.  If some of the more relaxed drivers look a bit stressed now, Veolia Shadow is why.

On Time and Under Budget

Systems which do what Veolia Shadow does have existed for years, but lack of funding prevented them from being implemented here.  The unsung achievement in Charleston is that Veolia, as the result of a contract negotiated with CARTA, managed to leverage cheap GPS equipment, the cellular network and its own proprietary operations software to achieve something which used to cost millions of dollars.  The Amalgamated Transit Union (Bus Drivers Union) adjusted it’s work rules to support movement towards better on time performance as well.  Everyone is committed to getting on time and staying there, despite the traffic and letting everyone know if it’s happening or not.  Implementing the industry standard, off the shelf solution, just for the Express bus system alone, would have cost over half a million dollars.

The Veolia Shadow/CARTA Bus Tracker system is new. It only works when the buses are running.  No data reports at 2 am, so it won’t tell you that your bus will be arriving in six hours when the vehicle is shut down and parked at the CARTA storage yard on Leeds Ave.  It starts working when the bus cranks up.   It sometimes struggles with localized cell network bandwith issues, common downtown near the College.  Use WI-FI when you can.  In the future we’re expecting arrival time displays at major stops, scannable QR code signage to bring your smart phone directly to information for a stop location and a dedicated app to make it work faster and better when we’re on the move.

Now all we have to do is get those SUVs driven by amateurs out of the way and we can move this community.

Bipartisan on the Bus, Republican Linda Page (CARTA Board Vice Chairman and member of Mt. Pleasant Town Council joined Democratic Congressional Candidate Elizabeth Colbert Bush to discuss transit issues on board the Coleman Blvd. #41 Bus on March 14, 2013..

Update- We’ll be meeting with the press at 11:15 am on Monday, March 25, at the Mary Street Transit center in Charleston (71 Mary Street, across the Street from Hughes Lumber) to urge the remaining Republican candidates to ride CARTA with us this week.  Everyone is welcome.  Facebook Event Signup, details.

Charleston, SC- On March 19,2013 Hungryneck Straphangers was happy to see Elizabeth Colbert Busch, who took a CARTA public transit ride with us on March 14 aboard the new 41 Coleman Blvd. Route with several other transit advocates receive the Democratic Nomination for SC’s First Congressional district. Colbert Busch has indicated a clear support for public transit in person and online. Her opponent Ben Frasier did not ride.

Unfortunately none of the five Republicans who rode CARTA with us made the run off. Teddy Turner, Elizabeth Moffley, Ric Bryant, Johnathan Hoffman & Tim Larkin. We would like to thank all of them for taking the time to ride and talk with transit riders. Every one of them said it was a rewarding experience for them. We felt so too.

Colbert Busch’s bi partisan transit discussion with Republican Linda Page while roaring over the breathtaking Ravenel Bridge on a bright spring day was an example of democracy at work, reaching across the aisle on the bus. The ride in the freezing rain which began the effort exposed three candidates to US Congress to transit at it’s worst and the wait for the return trip on the bus in the driving rain at an unsheltered, bench-less stop was fiercely educational.

Moffley and Larken boarding the 40 Mount Pleasant Bus

For those of us who ride transit regularly, it was frightening to realize that some of thes candidates had never been on a public transit bus. They didn’t understand how to work the farebox or pull the stop cord. We’re proud that they overcame their qualms and got on board, sitting down to talk to sometimes wet and surly people with real problems. I remember clearly Republican Mathew Hoffman’s attempts to connect with the cold wet riders on the 40. He felt it was hopeless, but I encouraged him to stick at it pointing out that the country was falling apart because people aren’t talking across their differences. He went back to the rear of the bus, sat down with a group of African Americans and bravely asked, “What pisses you off?” Unsurprisingly, a lot of things did.After a little hesitation, a conversation started.

Please join our effort to get the surviving two Republicans to take a ride on the bus with us before the runoff. Just ask them to ride the bus with us. If they prefer, we can arrange for a Republican involved with public transit to be their companion and rides can be scheduled any day, Monday through Saturday between 6 am and 7 pm. We’ll try to accommodate their needs and goals, meeting voters, a good time for them, learning about how the system works or whatever their priorities are.

We visited the campaign offices of Mark Sanford on March 23 to deliver our transit issues briefing book and to ask him to ride the bus.

The Surviving Republican Candidates are:

• Curtis Bostic Phone-  843-870-0739
• Mark Sanford Phone-  843-764-9188

We’re now preparing an April effort which will empower informed transit rider voting by thousands of riders on systems in the Lowcounty by distributing thousands of transit voter information cards in an effort we’re calling Farebox to Ballot Box.  We’ll be supported in this effort by the Charleston Forum of the SC Progressive Network, Americans for Transit and the Amalgamated Transit Union.  to volunteer for the effort, contact Hungryneck Straphangers.

Linda Page of the CARTA board & Mt. Pleasant Town Council speaks to candidates in a rainy Kmart cURRENparking lot on FcURR

The Primary phase of this election has ended- Updated information on this election and Transit Voter activities can be found on our Farebox to Ballot Box Page

————————————

Thanks and congratulation to the Seven candidates for the First District US Congress Special election who took one of our four guided rides on CARTA in February and March.  Early voting is now available at the Election Commission Warehouse on Headquarters Road in N. Charleston, a short walk from the CARTA stop on Dorchester Road, near it’s intersection with Leeds Ave, served by the Dorchester Road #11 Bus.  Google Transit Directions to the Election Commission from Mary Street, Downtown Charleston. Anyone over 65, full time students and people who have to work on election day, and seven other categories of voter can vote now.  Everyone can vote on the Primary election day, Tuesday, March 19 from 7 am to 7 pm.  For questions about voting, contact the Election Commission at (843) 744-8683 or see their website at http://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/BEVR/index.htm

When you are contacted by candidates before the primary, remember to tell them you ride, you vote and you want to know what they’re going to do if elected to help our community continue the journey to better public transit.  About one third of CARTA’s budget comes from funds appropriated by the US Congress, including grand funding for the purchase of new buses and funds to pay operating expenses.

Thanks for Taking a CARTA Ride with US

Below are the Candidates who got on board with the riders before March 15, 2013.  Best wishes to all of you who made part of your campaign’s journey with us.  The links take you to their websites or facebook pages where you can study their positions and ask them questions which you need answered to decide how to vote.  Those without a date or route listed did not ride with us despite a vigorous recruitment effort by local Republican and Democratic transit riders.

Democrats

1. Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D)  Colbert Busch Facebook  rode with us on March 14, Coleman Bvd, 41.
2. Ben Frasier

Green Party

• Eugene Platt (G)
• Larry Carter Center (G) rode with us in the rain on Feb. 7, The Green Party selected Platt to be it’s nominee at their meeting on March 9.  Greens use a meeting system to pick their candidate instead of a primary.

Republicans

1. Keith Blandford  indicates that he will not be riding, and that he is opposed to public transportation,
2. Curtis Bostic or Bostic on Facebook
3. Ric Bryant rode in the Morning on Feb. 28, North Charlston Exp.
4. ‘Larry Grooms or Larry Grooms on Facebook
5. Johnathan Hoffman rode in the rain, Feb. 7, Mt. P. Exp & 40
6. John Kuhn
7. Jeff King
8. Tim Larkin rode on Feb. 13, Mt. P. Exp & 40
9. Chip Limehouse or Chip Limehouse on Facebook
10. Peter McCoy
11. Elizabeth Moffly  rode on Feb. 13. Mt. P. Exp & 40
12. Ray Nash
13. Andy Patrick
14. Shawn Pinkston or Pinkston for Congress on Facebook
15. Mark  Sanford or  Mark Sanford on Facebook
16. Teddy Turner rode in the rain on Feb. 7, Mt. P Exp.

Thanks also to Linda Page of the CARTA Board and Mount Pleasant Town Council who met with four of the candidates during their rides.

Linda Page, Mt. Pleasant Town Council, Vice Chair CARTA Board stands next to the door of a CARTA bus.  She kept East Cooper buses from being sent to other parts of the county.  A summer bus service for IOP & Sullivans is being considered.

Service on the new 41 Coleman Blvd. Route will begin Monday, Feb. 25 and improved service on the 40 Trans Mount Pleasant bus begins Sunday.  Thanks to our East Cooper CARTA Board Representatives and local leaders for maintaining our share of CARTA services.  We’ve also learned the first three new bus stop benches will be installed thanks to Mayor Swails shortly, with over 400 thousand dollars in CARTA provided bus stop improvements planned county wide this year.  We were also able to retain Tel-A-Ride coverage on the Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island.

1. New 40 Route Page updated, now running more frequently.
2. New 41 Map and Schedule   Runs every 70 minutes directly from Downtown Charleston, Visitor’s Center through the Ravenel Gateway Hotel District, Veterans Memorial Waterfront Park, Patriot’s Point, Wingo Way to Coleman Blvd. past Rifle Range and back to the City on the Same Route.
3. Notice from CARTA on Feb. 2013 route changes
4. Service on the 401 & 402 Routes ends Saturday, Feb. 23

To retain these new bus routes and the additional frequence on the 40, we must increase the number of people riding the bus.  If we do not reach ridership standards, service can be cut or cancelled.  If you would like to help with that effort, please contact Hungrneck Straphangers immediately.

Tim Larkin (R) talking to voters on the Mount Pleasant 40 CARTA Bus March 13, 2011

Updated Info on the Transit Rider Voter empowerment effort can now be found at www.busec.org/vote.

Mt. Pleasant, SC- Hungryneck Straphangers has now conducted Candidate’s rides on March 7, 13 & 28 and is waiting to schedule more based on candidate’s committments.  Our practice is to obtian the first committment for a date of the campaign’s choosing, then invite everyone else.  If you want a good time for your campaign, call us first and take your pick.  Rides at various times can be worked out including early morning.  Full details can be found at www.busec.org.  You can reach organizer William Hamilton at 870-5299 or wjhamilton29464@gmail.com.

March 8 Candidates Ride- We’re offering an opportunity for candidates to schedule a ride this week on Friday at 7:00 am Starting at the Express Bus Park and Ride at Oakland Super Walmart in Mount Pleasant (out near Wando HS) into town.   Campaigns can either continue on to Citadel Mall to meet more voters or return to Mount Pleasant on the Express or the 40.  If no candidates confirm with us, we’ll cancel the ride.  Facebook Signup for March 8 Ride.

New- Hungryneck Straphangers has decided to distribute a bookmark type slip at bus stops prior to the primary which lists the candidates which did ride the bus, to recognize their interest in transit.  This will need to go to Press a week, March 9 so we can begin distribution on March 11.  The last day to ride and be listed on this bookmark slip will be Friday, March 8.   We plan to distribute several thousand bookmarks.

A Facebook photogallery of our first two trips with 5 candidates in now online at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10151430911974824&type=1

We expect to schedule several of these trips.  We’re somewhat flexible on how many and when, but this 4 pm to 5:35 pm time slot round trip to Mount Pleasant allows candidates to meet a lot of transit voters quickly and still make their evening event.  We also do morning join voters on their way to work rides, which are very intense but allow candidates to meet many transit voters who go on to discuss their candidate contact at work..   Bus trips go rain or shine.  We’re willing to work with campaign schedules to tailor a trip which meets your needs at these or other times.  We promise you’ll meet more voters faster doing this than any other form of in person campaigning.  Most candidates over 100 voters per hour.

Information and Questions for Candidates Now Updated, Online

Linda Page of the CARTA board & Mt. Pleasant Town Council speaks to candidates in a rainy Kmart parking lot on Feb. 7

All 16 Republican candidates were invited to ride during the Feb. 16 Freedomworks forum in N. Charleston and given a full information package, including the four that had already taken a ride, since package materials had been updated since their ride. Listed below are the candidates in alphabetical order by party and name and who hs ridden or committed to ride.

The Democrats and Greens have been invited by phone call and email.

Candidates can review our updated information for candidates memo, now with our exact Transit issue questions we’ll be asking candidates to answer.

Transit Issues in this Election

We’ll be distributing thousands of voter information cards in April with the candidates answers to three simple questions.  Candiates will have a brief space to explain their answers and we’ll provide links to more detailed information online if they ask.

1. Have you ridden CARTA or Tri County Link Public Transit in the Lowcountry recently?  We’ll note if this has been a guided ride with a person familiar with transit issues or a self reported claim which we can’t verify.
2. As a congressman would you be willing to work to obtain Federal support to complete planning and construction of the Passenger Intermodal Transportation Center in N. Charleston which will combine a new Amtrak Train Station, Greyhound Station, Airport Shuttle, CARTA route hub and car rental services as well as offices and service businesses.  We/ve put together an Intermodal  information packet for the campaigns. Details on this Public/Private partnership project are available from CARTA.
3. As a congressman, would you support returning public transit’s share of the Federal Transportation Budget to 20% or more from it’s current reduced share of 18%?  For background on this issue see Stranded at the Station, a natinal report on public transit funding issues.
4. There will be a short space for additional comments by the candidate.

Help Get Candidates to Ride the Bus

If your candidate hasn’t been on the bus yet, please contact them and encourage them to ride.  Our community will be better for everyone when all of our leaders understand what transit is really like, by seeing it from the inside right here, on a bus and meeting the people who ride every day.  You can download printable postcards to help get more people involved in this effort.

Democrats

1. Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D)  Colbert Busch Facebook  rode with us on March 14.
2. Ben Frasier

Green Party

• Eugene Platt (G)
• Larry Carter Center (G) rode with us in the rain on Feb. 7

Ric Bryant(R) in teal colored jacket at left, speaks to Express Bus Riders in North Charleston on Feb. 28

Republicans

1. Keith Blandford  indicates that he will not be riding, and that he is opposed to public transportation,
2. Curtis Bostic or Bostic on Facebook
3. Ric Bryant rode in the Morning on Feb. 28, North Charlston Exp.
4. ‘Larry Grooms or Larry Grooms on Facebook
5. Johnathan Hoffman rode in the rain, Feb. 7, Mt. P. Exp & 40
6. John Kuhn
7. Jeff King
8. Tim Larkin rode on Feb. 13, Mt. P. Exp & 40
9. Chip Limehouse or Chip Limehouse on Facebook
10. Peter McCoy
11. Elizabeth Moffly  rode on Feb. 13. Mt. P. Exp & 40
12. Ray Nash
13. Andy Patrick
14. Shawn Pinkston or Pinkston for Congress on Facebook
15. Mark  Sanford or  Mark Sanford on Facebook
16. Teddy Turner rode in the rain on Feb. 7, Mt. P Exp.

Here is the detailed Itinerary

Candidates Teddy Turner and Mathww Hoffman chat before boarding the Express bus on Calhoun Street

Feb. 28 Morning ride-  Starts at Kmart Park and Ride in North Charleston at 7 am,  at 7:19 Ride Express 1 all the way to James Island, turn around and stay on Express one back to the city.  Take Rivers Ave. 10 back to North Charleston.  Candidate Ric Bryant commieted to ride all candidates welcome.  You can sign up for the Feb. 28 Ride  on Facebook.

Elixabeth Moffly (R) talks to riders at the Express Bus stop in Downtown Charleston on our March 13 rided

For a full update on our current efforts to improve Public Transit East of the Cooper, see Going Somewhere Together  in 2013

This effort is a project of the Hungryneck Straphangers, an independent Rider’s Advocacy group and is not officially associated with CARTA, a government agency in any way.  Hungryneck Straphangers is associated with Americans for Transit, a national Rider’s advocacy group.