SC: Orangeburg County seeks $1M for buses

Orangeburg County Council has agreed to apply for $1 million in federal funding to help operate the public bus service.

The county is seeking a Rural Public Transportation operations grant for its Cross County Connection bus service.

If received, the federal share of the grant would be $495,658, the county's share would be $457,525 and the South Carolina Department of Transportation's share would be $144,301.

Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said he’s not sure if money will be available for the system.

“With this administration it is tough to say anything, because we still have not been reimbursed from FEMA stuff that we have been trying to do,” Young said.

Young said if funding is not approved, the system would still operate but there could be changes.

“We have been operating without the funding on several occasions when the funding didn't come through,” Young said. “I wouldn't say that it would shut it down, but some of the stuff we do would be reduced.”

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Young said a lot of people use the transportation system, especially those who need dialysis or to go to doctor's appointments.

“Veterans use it religiously,” Young said.

County Council unanimously agreed earlier this month to apply for the money through the South Carolina Office of Public Transit, which oversees federal and state funds for public transportation.

The Cross County Connection bus service provides public transportation to the general public. The transit system also transports veterans to the Veterans Administration facilities in Columbia and Charleston.

The county has contracted with the Santee Wateree Regional Transit Authority to operate the system and is expected to continue to contract with the company into the future.

The county has contracted with SWRTA since the transit system's inception 17 years ago.

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