May 26, 2019. The Post and Courier.

One of the worst things about using the Charleston area’s bus system — waiting at a bus stop with no shelter, exposed to the elements — is getting a lot better.

The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority is in the midst of a bus-shelter-construction boom, with the near-term goal of having shelters at 20 percent of CARTA’s bus stops. That would be 171 stops with shelters, 44 of which are expected to be installed this year.

In addition, the new perforated steel shelters and the existing shelters are lighted, using solar panels on the shelter roofs. Daniel Brock, a spokesman for the authority, said the solar systems already installed have been working well.

May 15, 2019. Charleston City Paper.

A week after a social justice group called for improvements in the area’s public transit system, the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority announced fares that are friendlier to low-income and older riders.

The system will expand its $1-a-ride senior fares to all operating hours. Currently, the discount is only available between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., a restriction that advocates say prevents older, low-income users from riding during peak hours.

Transfer fees, which cost 50 cents each, will be eliminated. In addition, $15 unlimited weekly passes and $25 weekly unlimited express passes will be introduced.

CARTA’s board of directors voted to revise its policies at a meeting on Wednesday, according to a press release. The changes will come up for approval on July 15.

The changes come after the Charleston Area Justice Ministry, an advocacy group made up of 30 interfaith congregations, held its annual Nehemiah Action rally at Mount Moriah Baptist Church in North Charleston on May 6.

May 7, 2019. Charleston City Paper.

As 1,800 people greeted their friends and took their seats, there was no question what inspired them to attend a two-hour rally about local issues on a Monday night.

“The driving force of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry is not the causes we pursue, but the call we discern from God our creator,” said Rev. Brian Henderson of St. James Presbyterian Church, one of the 30 congregations that make up the Ministry, at the group’s annual Nehemiah Action.

Held at Mount Moriah Baptist Church in North Charleston, the rally sought to convince public officials to commit to demands inspired by the Ministry’s research on local transit and affordable housing.