Grant could help bring on-demand, same-day transportation to rural areas

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A new $342,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will help one Lowcountry organization plan for a new on-demand and transit program for rural communities.

Funds awarded to the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) this month are part of the FTA’s Areas of Persistent Poverty program and will be used to support planning work that is needed to implement same day, on-demand transit service in the underserved rural areas of Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties with TriCounty Link.

Officials with BCDCOG say the goal is to connect vulnerable residents to existing and emerging job centers through an efficient and modern transit system, along with training facilities and CARTA’s urban area transit network, and the future Lowcountry Rapid Transit service area.

“This grant provides critical resources to enhance transit services to our region’s most rural residents,” said TriCounty Link Executive Director Ron Mitchum. “The On-Demand Transit Plan will reduce the traditional barriers to employment and economic prosperity for residents in rural communities and ensure everyone in the TriCounty has access to the transportation they need.”

Planning work will help the organization identify gaps in service and develop reliable same-day, on-demand service for rural areas outside of urban transit service areas.