Posts Tagged ‘Awendaw’

Welcome aboard, Transit Riders going somewhere together in 2013!

CAARTA #401 Bus at Mount Pleasant Waterfront Memorial Park

Five Million trips will be made on Charleston County Public Transit this year.  Auto is optional for a new generation & economy evolving new priorities.  The urban, elderly, tourists, disabled, students and people too busy to drive are experiencing smarter, more connected mobility. Transit builds a stronger America and protects the Earth’s environment. Hungryneck Straphangers is organizing an East Cooper community ready to ride!

Image, right- CARTA (Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority) opreates public transit services in the urban core of Charleston County, including most of Mount Pleasant, including Tel-A-Ride Services for the Disabled, Express Bus Commuter Service, The #40 Trans Mount Pleasant Route, #401 East Cooper Connector and the Free Downtown DASH Bus system.

Improved Service Starts in late February

This year East Cooper will get service ever 40 minutes on the #40 Trans Mount Pleasant bus, new #401 East Cooper Connector Service along Coleman Blvd. directly to Downtown and real time uplinked GPS data on bus locations and speed so online Google Transit trip planning moves from when the bus is supposed to come to when it is going to arrive.  Unfortunately regular bus service on the Isle of Palms and Sullivans Island provided by the #402 Island Flex will end, however Tel-A-Ride service for disabled persons living on the Islands will continue.  There is some discussion of operating a seasonal bus service on the Islands in the warmer months and Hungryneck Straphangers will work actively in support of such a plan.

Empower East Cooper Public Transit, Help Hungryneck move ahead!

Ride Smart and Connected- Plan trips online using Google Transit (Video at left), your smart phone, or from the www.ridecarta.com website (Main page, left hand side, top). Assist others by printing out, emailing or posting links showing trips they can make (with real time arrival information transmitted from the buses coming soon). Contract for a discounted trip with CARTA for your school, church or community group.  Buy a discount multiride pass at Kmart, Sea Island Piggly Wiggly or online.

Park Pleasantly, play downtown! Park near home and use transit to reach the free DASH bus system, fun and shopping downtown. Help visitors save hundreds of dollars staying at hotels East of the Cooper while taking the bus to Charleston.

Show the Way– Get your business, school or other group bus schedules and maps for you area.  Request a few from your bus driver while on board, pick up some up at the Mount Pleasant Kmart or Sea Island Piggly Wiggly  or request a larger supply from the CARTA and Tri County Link administrative offices.  Promote available bus routes when you’re hiring employees, advertising, renting or selling real estate to increase your response.  Employers can participate in a new federal program to provide payment for transit use as a tax free benefit.

Improve Everyone’s ride!  Greet your driver. Say hello to other passengers. Thank the driver when you get off the bus.

Get on Board- Join our mailing list or Hungryneck Straphangers Facebook Group for updates on public hearings and advocacy opportunities to improve our routes and stops.  Follow Hungryneck Staphangers on Twitter  or check for our route focused has codes for the #40 Trans Mount Pleasant Route #CARTA40

Start with Stops- Work with your community, government or businesses to get stop shelters erected.  Make walkable and bikable routes to stops available.  See our Start with the Stops Page.

Let’s Talk- Invite us to speak to your group about East Cooper expanding transit system with CARTA and Tri County Link Service reaching Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Awendaw and McClellenville.  Contact Hungryneck Straphangers  for a presentation.

Image, Right- Tri County Link,  runs public transit to McClellenville and Awendaw, Connecting with CARTA at Oakland Shopping Village (Super Walmart) and Wando HS.  It also operates other routes in rural Charelston, Berkeley and Dorchester Counties.

The Bus is up to U.S.- Get on the mailing list for American’s for Transit, to protect and improve service across the nation, making America more secure and protecting our environment.  Try transit on vacation. Bring the good ideas you discover home to share.

Ride Proud & Loud- Let the people who represent you in government, the businesses you patronize and the organizations you work with know you ride.  Vote for transit and engage candidates about our issues during their campaigns.  See candidates package for SC-1 Congressional Election.  You’re empowered to make transit work for everyone East of the Cooper.  Attend public hearings. Speak up for transit! Make East Cooper transit enabled, not auto dependent!  See our Straphangers Calendar for upcoming events.

Stand Up and Grab a Strap- For full information on all the things your neighbors are doing to improve mobility for everyone East of the Cooper (including those of you still fighting the traffic in your cars) see the main page for Hungryneck Straphangers.

Special National Day of Service Outreach Event, Sat. Jan. 19

Mount Pleasant, SC-  Helping the Mount Pleasant community take advantage of improved public transit services coming to the Johnnie Dodds Corridor later this winter will be the focus of a National Day of Service effort connected to the Presidential Inauguration & Martin Luther King Holiday on Saturday, January 19 sponsored by the Hungryneck Straphangers.

Volunteers will gather at the Starbucks near the intersection of Highway 17 and 41 at 9:30 am and then move out to surrounding residential communities and businesses with information about improvements to the CARTA 40 bus service, which will be going from running once an hour to running once every 40 minutes a few weeks later.  Soon this service will also be supported by real time bus location and travel data updates through Google Transit transmitted from the buses, allowing riders to obtain updated arrival times for their bus online.  They also be distributing information on locally proven transit strategies to make businesses more successful at hiring employees and getting costomers and information on the Tri County Link Bus route running from that area to McClellenville and Awendaw.

You can sign up to participate in the event and learn more about the national effort at https://donate.2013pic.org/page/event/detail/wf2 online.  For more information call (843) 870-5299.

You can reach the event location on the CARTA #40 route (Directions from Charleston)  and the Tri County Link Bus from McClelleville/Awendaw.

Mount Pleasant, SC- Grandparents East of the Cooper can dump the pump this summer by taking their grandchildren on public transit outings made more enjoyable without the car.

DASH Bus at Spring Street Stop, Charleston, SC. Travel on all DASH buses is free.

By using the CARTA #40 Trans Mount Pleasant Bus running from stops along Johnny Dodds Blvd. to the Visitor’s Center downtown  and Express Buses running from Super WalMart on North 1& and K mart, Grandparents can enjoy the ride through Mount Pleasant and over the bridge and find themselves downtown where kid friendly attractions and free DASH bus service are only steps away from the downtown bus stops.  Instead of fighting traffic, they can enjoy the dramatic ride over the bridge with their grandchildren.  Upon arriving downtown, they’ll find the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry just across the street, the Charleston Museum an easy one block walk down and the SC Aquarium a short free DASH bus ride to Aquarium Wharf away, as are most downtown attractions and parks.

Plan Your Trip Automatically, Online using Google Transit

You can plan the entire trip from your home to your final destination online using Google Transit on the CARTA website, Google Maps, Android devices, Iphone and Ipad.    Check the next trips from Houston Northcutt Blvd. to Downtown Charleston Visitor’s Center.   Transfers to buses to North Charleston, James Island, and West of the Ashley can be made downtown.  You can use Google Maps to plan your entire trip from your home automatically now and print out the entire plan, as well as email it to Mom and Dad or your tech savvy grandchild.  For older Grandchildren, the bus can be an option for easier visits to you.  For a video briefing on how Google Transit works and options for planning a trip days in the future, see Youtube http://youtu.be/6-_Z2O9r3pE

Downtown Destinations

• Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry - Across the Street from Ann Street Sop
• Charleston Museum- Get off 40 bus on Ann Street, walk one Block South and across Meeing Street
• SC Aquarium- Get off 40 bus at Ann Street, across from the Visitor’s center, walk one block South through the visitors Center and board Free Aquarium DASH at stop on John Street.  You can plan this trip on Google Transit.
• Visitors Center- Clean bathrooms for children and information next to the bus stop.

Other Options for Grandparent’s Outings

Grandparents may also enjoy taking a trip around Mt. Pleasant on the 401 East Cooper Connector loop Bus.  It is a simple,  easy ride that everyone enjoys and takes those on board to locations of interest around Mt. Pleasant once an hour.  You can park somewhere along the route, such as the Harris Teeter on Houston Northcutt, Moultrie Shopping Plaza or Sea Island Shopping Center and enjoy the ride around town, confident you’ll arrive right back where you started, while you and your grandchildren are free to enjoy the scenery, talk or get off the bus for an hour long visit somewhere.

The #402 Island Flex Bus provides hassel free trips to beaches at the Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island.  With a phone in resevation, the bus will pick you and your grandchild up anywhere on the mainland between Highway 17, Venning and Six Mile Road and take you anywhere on Sullivan’s Island and most of Isle of Palms.  Maddening bumper to bumper beach traffic isn’t a bother.  This same bus gives Grandparents lucky enough to live at the beach a safe and pleasant way to go to Town Center for shopping or a movie with their grandchildren.  The Beach bus connects with both the #40 bus for easy trips into Charleston from a stop in front of Verizon at Town Center and stops for the #401 Bus on Hungryneck Blvd.

Younger children enjoy transit immensely.  They’re free to look around and move around when appropriate.  The big windows allow children to really enjoy the view.  Best of all you are free to devote your time and attention to your grandchild instead of the maniac riding your bumper in a Ford Expedition.  The bus may be a bit slower than your car, but you’ll enjoy the time while the driver deals with East Cooper’s dreaded traffic.  Even disabled Grandparents can apply for and use CARTA’s Tel A Ride service for trips with their Grandchildren, which include options for front door pickup.

Options for trips with your Grandchildren don’t end in urban Mount Pleasant.  The Tri County Link C203 Bus services communities along Highway 17 all the way to McClellenville.  Trips throughout the entire CARTA system in Charleston County (with the current exception of the soon to be included 402 Island Flex Route).  The Mount Pleasant Express bus can take riders directly to Citadel Mall.

Children under age 6 ride free and there is an off peak senior citizens discount as well.  Regular bus fare is only $1.75, less than the cost of one hour in a parking garage.  All CARTA trips can now be planned online using Android phones, Iphones, Ipads, the www.ridecarta.com website and Google Maps.  In some cases, the best plan may be to drive to a parking lot along the route and take the bus into town.

If all of this is overwhealming and you don’t share my enthusiasm for the internet, just give me a call and I’ll help you figure it out old school.  William Hamilton (843) 870-5299.  You can also pick up printed bus schedules in Mount Pleasant at K Mart and the Sea Island Piggly Wiggly.

With your children and grandchildren, it isn’t the destination that matters, but the journey.  Don’t be chained to your car, being lashed by traffic and harassed by horns on the IOP Connector, Ravenel Bridge or Orange Drum Obstacle Course!  Dump the pump and take the bus.

Special Businss Offers for Grandparents

If you business wishes to extend a promotional offer to Grandparents visiting downtown with their Grandchildren, we’ll list it here.  Just email the details to wjhamilton29464@gmail.com.

Updates and Media Reports

• Report on Dump the Pump Day & Transit Progress in June 21 Post and Courier by Prentiss Findlay- More People Riding
• Twitter Feed on Dump the Pump Day, including our updates.