PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Reliable rides that take cars off the road.
$858 million for CARTA service and the Lowcountry Rapid Transit corridor. Connecting jobs, schools, and neighborhoods across Charleston County.
Transit is traffic relief.
Public transit is not just for transit riders. Every full bus is dozens of cars that are not on the road with you, and every reliable route is one fewer family stuck without a way to reach work, school, or a doctor. Roughly a quarter of the existing half cent has gone to CARTA, and it shows. [2]
The track record.
66.7 million CARTA passenger trips supported since 2005 [2]
About
319 million passenger miles [2]
More than
125 new buses and paratransit vehicles [2]
146
shelters and benches installed [2]
Annual service miles
up 226% since 2004 [2]
Annual passenger trips
up 120% since 2004 [2]
What the new funding builds.
-
Lowcountry Rapid Transit: the region's first rapid transit line, a 21 mile modern corridor connecting Charleston, North Charleston, and the Summerville corridor, now approaching final design. [3]
-
$23 million dedicated to implementing the downtown Charleston route study, so peninsula service gets the redesign it needs. [4]
-
Continued investment in the CARTA fleet, shelters, and service that the half cent has funded for two decades. [2]
SOURCES:
[1] Charleston County news release, third and final reading, July 21, 2026 (final transit allocation of $858 million, 20.19%). https://www.charlestoncounty.org/news/2026/charleston-county-council-approves-third-and-final-reading-of-2026-transportation-sales-tax-ordinance.pdf
[2] Charleston County Transportation Development, program impact page and Just Facts report (CARTA trips, passenger miles, fleet, shelters, growth since 2004, share of revenue to CARTA). https://charlestontransportation.com/impact/
[3] Live 5 News, SCDOT almost at final design completion with Lowcountry Rapid Transit system, September 17, 2025. https://www.live5news.com/2025/09/17/scdot-almost-final-design-completion-with-lowcountry-rapid-transit-system/
[4] Charleston County 2026 Transportation Sales Tax program one pager, July 21, 2026 ($23 million downtown route study implementation within the transit allocation). https://charlestontransportation.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/TST-Program-One-Pager_July-21.pdf