Posts Tagged ‘public transit’

Everybody wants it better, faster, safer and more often. (We’re talking about transit here.)

Materials for the May 1, 2012 Stop the CARTA Cuts Demonstration provided by www.supporttransit.org

In November 2012 Bus Transit Riders East of the Cooper will have a major opportunity to improve the quality of their experience for themselves and the growing number of riders in our area, which has increased about 74% on the 40 in the past five years as of August, 2012.  As road work is completed and a national election is held, we’re at an inflection point on policy and investment when it pays to speak up.  East Cooper needs a  safe, accessible stops on routes which run on time and ways to cross our new roads which don’t get riders killed.  We cannot accept a 140 million dollar road improvement projects which degrades bus service in our community.

Speak up for Better Routes & Stops on Nov. 13

In response to ridership trends, including disappointing results on the  402 Island Flex and parts of the 401 East Cooper Connector Route, CARTA has begun a process of redeploying transit capacity East of the Cooper.  Linda Page was successful in making sure we retained all the capacity we have now, but the Islands will probably lose their Flex Bus service and the 401 route will be changed.  The 40 will probably be adjusted in response to changes in the road system.  The Express may continue unchanged, but needs better support infrastructure. Four different options are being considered.  See the consultant’s CARTA East Cooper Analysis report (PDF).

We need to be sure that quality of operation issues don’t get ignored and that the new routes and stops are designed to serve riders safely, which includes being sure that crossings at the massive, new intersections on Johnnie Dodds Blvd. are as safe as possible and can be avoided to the extent possible.  We expect a public hearing this winter, probably during or near the holidays when participating may be low.  Lets make sure riders, the real experts, get heard so we get stops and routes which really work.

What we’re going to do in November

1.  Help us spread this and other information to community leaders.  We’ve already presented our Fall Report to the CARTA Board, which we also made available to the media. Read and help distribute our Fall 2012 Report to the CARTA Board.
2. Speak to members of the Charleston County Legislative Delegation, Charleston County Council (some running for reelection) and Mount Pleasant Town Council.
3.   Please sign our online petition for Better Routes and Stops East of the Cooper (available soon).
4. Join us at Mount Pleasant Town Council on Nov. 13 for the public comment period.
5. Email us at wjhamilton29464@gmail.com or call 843 870-5299 with your input or feedback.  Interact on our Hungryneck Straphangers Facebook Page.  Unfortunately the comments at the bottom of this page don’t work properly due to a flood of spam.

Speak out at Mount Pleasant Town Council on Nov. 13

We’re asking everyone who can to join us on Tuesday, November 13 at 6 pm during the public comment period at Mount Pleasant Town Council to make sure that public attention is focused on making sure we have safe, accessible bus stops on the new Johnnie Dodds Blvd.  Town Hall is located at 100 Ann Edwards Lane, off Houston Northcutt Blvd.  in Mount Pleasant.  You can sign up to join us Nov. 13 on Facebook.

Thanks to the millions of people who talke to candidates and participated in the votetransit.org effort in this election.  We distributed over 1000 information cards here in Charleston and assisted a successful transit referendum effort in Richland County and Columbia, SC in partnership with the SC Progressive Network, Amalgamated Transit Union and Americans for Transit.   Hungryneck Straphangers was the first pro transit organization to start activity on the ground in Columbia after the massive transit cuts there last Spring.

Lets make sure that seven years of promises about a transit enabled Johnnie Dodds Blvd. here in Mount Pleasant get kept before the work is over, the concrete is hard and the money is gone.

Charleston, SC- Lowcountry public transit advocates affiliated with the Hungryneck Straphangers and local off duty bus drivers will join the nationwide votetransit.org campaign, on Tuesday, October 23, handing out literature and obtaining voting commitments from Bus riders at Express Bus stops along Calhoun Street in Downtown Charleston, SC from 3:30 to 5:30.

Transit supporters will be at express bus stops on Calhoun near MUSC and the College of Charleston. Materials to be distributed will include a “Thank You, Transit is Patriotic information card” which includes a photograph of and quote from wounded warrior Major Tammy Duckworth, and former Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, now running for the US Congress, who points out that transit reduces our dependence on the foreign oil which funds attacks on our troops overseas and encourages riders to vote.

This week’s national effort will inform and empower over a million transit riders in battleground states and others throughout the country to use their power as voters to help sustain and continue the progress public transit is making in the United States. Locally, that includes an 11% increase in ridership on the CARTA system this year. The following day, transit advocates and drivers from Charleston will travel to Columbia, SC to assist the referendum campaign to restore the transit system there which lost almost half its capacity to budget cuts last spring.

Candidates for public office who are supportive of Public Transit are welcome to participate. Participants will meet at 3 pm at the columns at Cannon Park 131 Rutledge Ave, Charleston, SC 29401 (former site of the Charleston Museum, across the street from MUSC), distribute materials and then walk to the Express Bus stops, which are nearby

Persons needing to reach the area can use any Express Bus, the Lockwood/Calhoun Dash or the North Beltline CARTA bus routes and plan their trip online using Google Transit by going to the CARTA webiste www.ridecarta.com or using the maps app on their Android Smart phone.

For More information see the website www.busec.org or contact William Hamilton, wjhamilton29464@gmail.com or 843 870-5299.

The Island Flex Bus #402 is a stress free way to get to the beach, with limited scheduled service to the front beach business district of the Isle of Palms and the opportunity to go nearly everywhere on the Isle of Palms or Sullivan’s Island by phoning in a reservation.

CARTA provides service to the Isle of Palms and Sullivans Island with the #402 Island Flex

While the times and prices aren’t exactly right, the Island Flex does now show up on Google Transit.  If you call ahead for a reserved pickup, you can often arrange for the bus to meet the #40 and get you out to the beach from downtown in about 45 minutes total.  See the next 3 available trips to IOP from Downtown.  It can take a little planning and patience, but calling CARTA Tel-A-Ride/Flex Reservations at 843.724.7420 at least two hours prior to your trip saves a lot of time and opens up many more possibilities.

The long trip times reported by Google Transit reflects the unscheduled operation of the Flex Bus between scheduled runs, when the bus serves both IOP, Sullivan’s and part of the mainland based on phoned in reservations..  You’ll usually get out to the beach about 10 minutes after you are picked up Mount Pleasant Town Centre in front of Verizon.  If you get a transfer from the #40 the trip to the beach should be only an additional dollar upcharge plus the 30 cent transfer, not the full $3 charge, or a total trip cost from downtown to the beach of $3.05.  You can make the full trip in as little as 45 minutes with a phone in reservation.

The Island Flex connects to both the #40 Trans Mount Pleasant and the #401 East Cooper Connector bus lines and is CARTA’s and the areas only public transit service to any local beach.  The #40 bus, in turn connects to the entire CARTA route system downtown at the Mary Street Transit Center.

College of Charleston students can even make the trip to the beach for free using their Student ID as a Bus Pass.  See our student’s guide to a free trip to the beach.

Once you are on the Isle of Palms, you will find a beautiful, family oriented beach (alchohol free) where both the IOP County Park and City of Isle of Palms have shower and changing facilities available for free to transit riders a short walk from the bus stop.  There are plenty of restaurants, bars and business in IOP to meet all your beach needs.  You don’t have to ride out in your swim suit and you don’t have to ride home with salt on you.

Sometimes the Island Flex gets caught in the beach traffic snarl like everything else, but it is a lot more pleasant to be able to enjoy the view, read a book and listen to your music than to stare at the bumper in front of you and fret about the bumper behind you for 30 minutes.  You can stand up and stretch your legs and enjoy the view as well.

With a called in advance reservation you can go elsewhere on the Isle of Palms (outside Wild Dunes, where it serves a stop at the gate) and all of Sullivan’s Island.

Times for the return trip from the beach to downtown on Google Transit appear to be accurate.