95 people ride CARTA Beach Reach Shuttle in first full weekend

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - With tens of thousands of people traveling to the Isle of Palms this past weekend, some decided to opt out of driving their cars and instead use the new public shuttle on and off the island.

According to the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority, over the Memorial Day weekend, 95 people hopped on the Beach Reach shuttle which starts at the Mount Pleasant Town Centre.

On the first day, Saturday, 18 people rode the free bus. Then, 22 people used the service on Sunday and ridership jumped to 55 people on Monday.

CARTA chairman, Mike Seekings, said he is proud of the Beach Reach shuttle’s first weekend.

“I rode it yesterday both on and off the beach and there were a number of riders, so we are off to a great start,” Seekings said.

In contrast this past weekend, the Isle of Palms police department reports more than 76,000 cars traveled on and off the connector over those same three days.

Seekings said he expects more riders to take advantage of the bus over the summer.

“Those are 95 cars that aren’t getting in that mix, those are 95 cars that aren’t struggling to find parking,” Seekings said. “I think that those numbers will continue to go up.”

The bus runs every Saturday and Sunday through Labor Day Weekend.