NORTH CHARLESTON (June 3, 2022) — Today, Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) and Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) Executive Director Ron Mitchum released the following statement regarding the FTA’s announcement that both agencies will receive more than $1.2 in cumulative grant funding via the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
CARTA will receive $563,000 in grant funding to develop a downtown restoration plan to improve post-pandemic ridership and service quality, while BCDCOG will receive $650,000 to study fixed route and bus rapid transit (BRT) alternatives for the US 52 Corridor, which connects the Goose Creek and Moncks Corner communities in Berkeley County.
The BRT study will identify alignments, station locations and guideway features based on criteria related to increased ridership, equitable access, cost-effectiveness, engineering and safety features, environmental impacts, and more.
“This recent announcement from the Federal Transit Administration is great news for residents throughout the tri-county area. With communities across the country still recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, this funding will go a long way toward improving our local transportation infrastructure and maintaining the kind of high quality of service our riders deserve. I’d like to thank our partners at the Federal Transit Administration for including CARTA and BCDCOG in this grant distribution and look forward to getting started.”
The funding is part of a $25 million grant distribution that will help 50 public transportation agencies across the country restore service that was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABOUT CARTA
The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) is a public transportation system dedicated to providing affordable transit in the Charleston, S.C., community through local fixed routes, on-demand paratransit, and express commuter service. For the latest on CARTA, visit ridecarta.com, like us on Facebook, or follow on Twitter at @RideCARTA. All customers are encouraged to plan rides and track buses with the CARTA-endorsed Transit app.
ABOUT BCDCOG:
The BCDCOG is a voluntary association of, by and for local governments, and was established to assist Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester county leaders in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit, and coordinating for sound regional development. BCDCOG’s purpose is to strengthen the individual and collective power of local governments and to help them recognize regional opportunities, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and make joint decisions. For the latest on BCDCOG, visit www.bcdcog.com, like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter at @BDCCoG.
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