At the end of the Aug. 17 Charleston City Council meeting, Mayor Joe Riley announced his intention to ask the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority to amend and increase its Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) bus routes and make the service free.
Riley said that such a move ought to take more cars off the street in the peninsula. Although he thought the change would benefit citizens more than anybody else (ridership of DASH is presently composed of 75 percent local residents) the changes were being sought to help tourists.
The mayor said that the State Ports Authority, the Medical University of South Carolina and the Visitor and Convention Bureau and Accommodation Tax funds would provide financing for the extra service.
The frequency of the service was to increase from every 20 minutes to every 10 minutes, he added.
The recommendation was made by the Task Force Transportation Committee and endorsed by the task force.
The proposed contributions by the entities mentioned were expected to make CARTA “whole” in covering the extra cost. Riley also noted that everybody on the Peninsula below the Crosstown would be within a 10-minute walk of a DASH route.