Grassroots group pushes for public transit

Twenty people in a recreation center may not sound like the beginning of a transportation movement. 

Then again, as Berkeley County Councilmember Jarrod Brooks pointed out during a Sept. 9 gathering on Daniel Island, “It starts with 20, right?” 

Those 20 or so residents came to the Daniel Island Recreation Center to address an issue that has followed the island’s growth for years: There is no or little public transportation connecting the community to downtown Charleston or the broader region. 

After the meeting, attendees said they left with a clearer idea of what that transportation could look like and a homework assignment. 

The grassroots meeting was organized by resident Liz Troy, whose interest began after she lost access to a CARTA program that had provided discounted Uber rides to seniors. 

“I had it for a while, and then CARTA did some kind of reorganization or update, and I lost it,” Troy said. “I know there’s a few other people on Daniel Island who had the same experience.” 

Her larger question was one that has surfaced repeatedly in the island’s transit debate: How can residents prove there is demand for a service that does not exist? 

“Not everybody’s going to be a squeaky wheel and write a letter or come to an [official’s] office or come to a meeting,” Troy said, “so there might be quite a few silent people who want this.” 

Articles from The Daniel Island News show residents have raised the possibility of bus service as far back as 2018, and a May 2026 reader poll found 74% of respondents would be willing to use public transportation in some capacity. Residents at the meeting pointed to population growth, seniors, workforce transportation, congestion, and development along Clements Ferry Road as reasons to revisit the issue. 

Charleston City Councilmember and CARTA Chairman Mike Seekings made one distinction clear: wanting transit does not necessarily make a traditional CARTA bus viable. 

“The three things that drive public transit are demand, ridership, and funding,” he said. “In Berkeley County as a whole, the demand is not to the level that we can run a full-time service out here, and there is zero funding in Berkeley County. That’s a real challenge.” 

Although Daniel Island sits within Charleston's city limits, the island is located in Berkeley County, which is not part of the CARTA system. 

While CARTA is centered on Charleston County, Seekings said the fares there cover only a small portion of the agency's operations, with the remainder coming from federal and state funding, grants, and Charleston County's half-cent sales tax. 

Then there is I-526. 

“The 526 corridor, on its best day, is non-functional,” Seekings said. When a resident argued that was precisely why another option was needed, he replied, “Remember the bus is going to be in the exact same traffic.” 

MICROTRANSIT, WATER FERRIES NEXT? 

A transit alternative discussed that evening looked less like a city bus rolling down Seven Farms Drive and more like a network of smaller vehicles circulating around Daniel Island and carrying passengers to a ferry, with connections on the other side. 

“In the short term, the solution for Daniel Island is microtransit,” Seekings said. “That is a pursuit that I am very much interested in, and we’re working on hard.” 

With the mention of possible boat transportation, residents tried to fill in the details: How often would ferries run? What happens during bad weather? Where would riders park? Could bicycles come aboard? Could one fare cover the entire trip? 

One resident envisioned a seamless system: “You buy your ticket for the bus, you get on the bus, you go to the ferry terminal, you take the ferry, and then you get on the bus at the other end and you keep going.” 

A permanent regional ferry network would take time, but Seekings said CARTA is also considering a nearer-term partnership with the private Daniel Island Ferry operation. 

“There is a stopgap measure that we’re looking at,” he said, “and that is partnering with the private sector.” 

There is precedent. When the Wando Bridge was shut down in 2018, ferries moved people on and off Daniel Island. 

“And they worked,” Seekings recalled. “They worked like a charm.” 

Daniel Island Ferry co-owner Colby Hollifield previously told The Daniel Island News that operators are working with CARTA and city leaders to expand service. The vessel itself, he said, is not the difficult part. 

“The boat part is the easiest part of the equation,” Hollifield said, pointing instead to docks and parking as the bigger hurdles. 

Microtransit could help solve the latter by carrying residents to the waterfront rather than requiring everyone to drive and park there. 

DETERMINING BERKELEY'S PART  

Funding remains another hurdle. 

When Berkeley County Councilmember Jarrod Brooks joined the discussion, he said public transit has not been a major issue raised by county residents, but growth has brought additional revenue that could help start the conversation. 

“I think there would be an appetite for it,” Brooks said. 

Seekings said those conversations will become increasingly important as the county grows. 

“Somewhere down the road, not too far out, as Berkeley County grows and expands, we’re going to have to invest in infrastructure for alternate forms of transportation,” he said. 

Residents also pointed to the growing Clements Ferry Road corridor as a future source of riders and a place where businesses may need transportation for workers. 

GRASSROOTS HOMEWORK 

In what was more of a brainstorming session than a decision-making meeting, the group did leave with an answer to Troy’s original question about demonstratingdemand. 

“Grassroots sort of meetings like this, getting awareness out there, are really important,” Seekings said. 

When residents asked how best to reach elected officials, his answer was email."  

Troy has since encouraged interested residents to do their homework and contact city, county, and state officials and research candidates’ positions. Troy also wrote a letter to the editor on Page 6. 

Members of the group are also considering a petition to document support. No date has been set for another meeting.