Approximately 40 people attended the TriCounty Link event to celebrate the first anniversary of the Commuter Solutions program and to help kick-off a fourth commuter route serving Cross, St. Stephens and Bonneau. The event, held at the Santee Cooper park and ride lot in Moncks Corner, was also the first time Linky, the TriCounty Link mascot, has appeared in public.

In addition to helping cut the ribbon for the new commuter route, Linky was on hand to remind people that by using TriCounty Link they are not only helping cut carbon emissions, but they can also save an average of more than $8,000 a year by not driving their cars to work.

Voicing their support for the Link and its contributions to the Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester communities it serves were: SC State Representative David Umphlett, Michael J. Heitzler, Mayor of Goose Creek; Dan Davis, Berkeley County Supervisor; Dr. Barbara Zia, President of the League of Women Voters of South Carolina; Mary Horres, President, League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area; and Levon Stickland, General Manager, Santee Cooper Cross Generating Station.

"Santee Cooper began promoting the TriCounty Link commuter bus service to our employees a year ago as part of our new commuter benefits program, and we see this partnership as a win-win-win," said Lonnie Carter, Santee Cooper president and chief executive officer. "The environment wins because when people take a bus instead of driving their personal vehicles, they save on vehicle emissions. The community wins because by partnering with businesses, TriCounty Link is also able to provide public transportation to rural areas that lack transportation options. Our employees win because they save on gas costs, vehicle wear-and-tear and the stress of driving. For all of these reasons, Santee Cooper is pleased to help bring commuter bus service to the communities around Lake Moultrie."

The new route will operate Monday through Friday serving Cross, St. Stephen, Bonneau, and Moncks Corner. In addition to the Santee Cooper lot, park and ride for the new Cross Route are located at the: Bonneau Town Hall, 422 Municipal Lane; St. Stephen IGA, 3931 Byrnes Drive, and the Cross Generating Station, 553 Cross Station Road in Pineville.

Additionally, between October 12 and December 30, 2009, TriCounty Link customers will be able to enter to win great prizes including, gift certificates from Lowe’s of Summerville, Gilligan’s Restaurant, Walmart, Chic-Fil-A of Goose Creek, and Duke’s Bar-B-Que. Riders can also enter to win the grand prize, a 42” flat screen television to be awarded on January 4, 2010.

The success of the Commuter Solutions program has given TriCounty Link a lot to celebrate. Ridership on the original three routes has increased by 37 percent over the past year and the program received two first place awards at American Public Transportation Association (APTA) annual convention in Orlando on October 5, and will also receive an excellence award from the National Association of Development Organizations Research Foundation (NADO) at the Rural Transportation Learning Conference in Savannah on October 28.

TriCounty Link will also unveil a new training bus at the Monday morning event. According to Executive Director, Will Hutto, “We see a direct correlation between training and professionalism. Although all of the vehicles we operate may not require it, we now require all of our drivers to have CDL licenses. To achieve this goal and to maintain the level of training required, we have converted and refurbished a 40 foot Thomas Transitliner to be used as our dedicated training bus. This is a 1995 model bus that had been utilized and fully depreciated at another transit property in the state. The conversion and refurbishing was done at a very modest cost and allows us to be the only public transit property in the state to have a dedicated training bus.” For more information about the event and the new Cross Commuter Solutions route please call Will Hutto at 843-899-4096. For additional photos from the event, contact Susan Richards at 769-6159. For information about other TriCounty Link services, visit our website at www.ridetricountylink.com .