Oct. 2--At first, Kim Thompson thought she got on the wrong bus.
It was early -- 9 a.m. -- and in the morning bustle of the Ivory Wilson Transfer Center in Myrtle Beach, it can be easy to get the blue and yellow buses mixed up when they're all in front the small Coast Rapid Transit Authority.
Thompson, of Myrtle Beach, originally wanted to head south, to one of the malls, but instead found herself Thursday on a new northbound bus headed for North Myrtle Beach.
It was, perhaps, an easy mistake to make: Thompson was one of the first people to ride Coast RTA's newest bus line, the 17. It takes time for riders to learn about and be comfortable with a new bus route, transit agency officials said, so some confusion and curiosity among Thursday's riders was expected.
After a 14-year hiatus, Coast RTA re-introduced a route from Myrtle Beach to North Myrtle Beach, marking the first time since 2006 that city had bus service. Over the course of two hours, the new route zips from downtown Myrtle Beach into Carolina Forest, and then along S.C. 17 into North Myrtle Beach where it loops around Cherry Hill before heading back the way it came.
You can find a map of the route and its stops here.
When she realized where she was heading, Thompson said discovering the new route was a happy accident.
"It's good for me, now I get to see my family more often. Because I don't like driving," she said. "I miss my exit, it freaks me out. And they live in North Myrtle Beach so I would go there like once a week. Now I can go there all the time."
More routes planned for the near future
The new route is one of several Coast RTA has planned for the coming year, and marks an effort by the agency to expand to serve its region. Coast RTA would have to triple its current number of buses and routes to have comparable service to other areas of 300,000 to 400,000 people, general manager and CEO Brian Piascik said. Thus, Coast RTA plans to introduce six new buses and four more routes by this time next year, adding service in Socastee and Aynor and expanding service in North Myrtle Beach, Georgetown and Conway.
By Memorial Day 2021, Coast RTA will introduce a summer-only shuttle to North Myrtle Beach, allowing the shopping and entertainment areas to have bus service every 20 minutes, compared to every two hours, Piascik said.
Together, these additions will cost roughly $1 million in new service each year for the next five years, funded by $5 million in funding Coast RTA received from the federal CARES Act. Piascik said he hopes riders will embrace this expanded service, allowing the agency to pursue a ballot referendum that would grant Coast RTA a dedicated revenue stream from taxpayers, possibly in the form of increased sales taxes.
"We're woefully undersized so what I'm hoping is that these new routes that we're putting in will allow us to show ... how these additional investments in the system is changing our ridership," Piascik said. "More service begets more ridership, hopefully. That's the key."
In Thursday's pre-dawn light, the new 17 bus idled, awaiting its first passengers as several Coast RTA employees mingled in front of the of the Ivory Wilson Transfer Center. Then, as with any properly-done launch, Piascik used comically large scissors to cut a strand of gold ribbon two Coast RTA employees held in front of the bus' door.
The first trip
Then it was Bobby Young's turn. Though he retired in February, he realized he wasn't quite ready to stop driving a bus and came back to Coast RTA to drive three days a week.
A veteran driver, Young has spent 54 years of his life behind a steering wheel, first for a big rig and then a public bus. Young, who is 72 years old, used to drive the 17 route before a lack of funding in 2006 cut the route. So it only felt natural that he'd again take the wheel. Donning a face mask and perched behind a $2,300 Plexiglas pane to protect himself from COVID-19, Young focused on getting the timing of the route exactly right.
Minutes into the route, however, the bus stalled, forcing Young to pull over along Robert M. Grissom Parkway. Fearing they'd need to swap out the bus for a different vehicle, Transportation Manager Doug Herriott hurriedly made phone calls and assisted Young with restarting the bus' internal computer system. Young wasn't fazed.
"We ain't going to be late gentleman," he said, guiding the bus North to SC 17 make up lost time. "I'll guarantee that."
New opportunities
Excited by the prospect of a new route to North Myrtle Beach, several passengers rode Thursday morning's 9 a.m. loop just to see where they could go.
Holding an unrigged fishing pole, James Patrick said he could use the route to get from Myrtle Beach to Dick's Sporting Goods or Bass Pro so he could buy fishing gear, and then take it to Cherry Hill to fish. He also said he might be able to use the new route to get to his side job: power washing North Myrtle Beach area businesses.
"If this will work out, I can do it that way," he said.
For Katharine D'Angelo, Thursday was a momentous day.
Having worked for several transit agencies in New Jersey before moving to the Grand Strand, D'Angelo joined Coast RTA's board of directors 20 years ago. She has advocated for a North Myrtle Beach bus line ever since the agency shut it down. Every board meeting, she said she asks: "What about North Myrtle Beach? When will it get a bus line again?"
So she and several members of the North Myrtle Beach Pilot Club -- a group of older women who organize fundraisers and community events -- hopped on the bus Thursday at Windy Hill, discussing excitedly the places they could now travel without driving.
Anthony Powell said he works as a security guard at several businesses in North Myrtle Beach, but has never been able to visit for fun. As he rode the whole 17 loop, he said he's excited he can hop on a bus and explore new places. Plus, he said, the bus service will be helpful for fellow workers.
"This is good for people who work way out because you do have some people who do work further places," he said. "So this is convenient for ones that can go back and forth."
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