Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority

The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) provides public transportation within parts of Charleston and Dorchester counties in South Carolina, including the municipalities of Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville, James Island, and the Isle of Palms. CARTA presently contracts with RATP Dev for staffing and managing the bus drivers in addition to maintaining and scheduling the buses. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 2,513,400, or about 9,700 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2025.

CARTA began service in 1997 and operates seven days a week. In addition to its regular fixed routes, CARTA offers express commuter service on weekdays, a free area shuttle service in downtown Charleston, and Tel-A-Ride services for eligible residents.

As with many communities across the United States, the Charleston region was served by streetcars and buses that were operated by electric companies. The bus system in Charleston was operated by South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) until 1997. During the 1980s, mass transit options in Charleston were reduced. An effort to create a regional transportation authority that would operate public transportation were defeated by voters in a referendum.^[3]

In 1997, after learning that SCE&G intended to cease operating buses, the City of Charleston, the City of North Charleston, the Town of Mt. Pleasant and Charleston County joined together to create the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA).^[3]

From its inception, CARTA has been hampered by insufficient funding it claimed it required to operate effectively. The transportation service provider explored many avenues to increase funding over the years but no source provided enough to keep CARTA from making substantial reductions in service. CARTA was forced to cease most of its operations in January 2004 and relied on emergency funding from state and federal funding streams to keep it from being liquidated. In early November 2004, a half-cent sales tax referendum was passed (following one instance where it failed and another overturned), providing CARTA with the revenue to relaunch many of the services that were eliminated or consolidated due to insufficient funding. CARTA even added new routes and services throughout their rebuilding phases, as was the case with the launch of CARTA Express in January 2007.

Despite budgetary setbacks, CARTA ridership continues to increase and become more popular. In 2013, CARTA reported its busiest year of operations, with nearly five million riders for 2012 and a weekday average of over 15,000 riders. DASH service accounted for nearly 1.2 million rides in 2012.^[4] In late 2013, CARTA inaugurated its North Area Shuttle service (NASH) as a free circulator route to serve the North Charleston area, however this service was suspended in June 2014 due to low ridership. In February 2014, the NASH Express service was launched, creating an express route between Charleston International Airport and downtown Charleston.

CARTA is overseen by a Board of Directors made up of area politicians who meet once a month.^[5] Their meeting agendas and meeting minutes are available online.^[6] These meetings typically review CARTA's financial details, staff updates, and performance/ridership updates.

The day-to-day operations of CARTA are managed by the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG), which took over operations in 2015.^[7] The BCDCOG also manages the rural TriCounty Link and Lowcountry Rapid Transit projects.^[5][8] In turn, the BCDCOG typically contracts the day-to-day operations of CARTA to a private company. As of February 2026, RATP Dev is the contractor which runs the day-to-day operations of CARTA.^[9]

CARTA offers fixed route services to much of the Charleston area, mainly in downtown, North Charleston, West Ashley, and Mount Pleasant. Routes are serviced by large passenger buses which typically have two entrances, wheelchair usability, and a bike rack on the front of the vehicle with space for two bikes.

These are the fixed routes as of March 2026:

• Route 10 – Rivers Avenue
• Route 11 – Dorchester/Airport
• Route 12 – Upper Dorchester/AFB
• Route 13 – Remount Road

• Route 20 – King Street/Meeting
• Route 30 – Savannah Highway
• Route 31 – Folly Road
• Route 32 – North Bridge
• Route 33 – St Andrews/Ashley River Rd
• Route 40 – Mt. Pleasant
• Route 41 – Coleman Boulevard
• Route 42 – Wando Circulator
• Route 102 – North Neck
• Route 103 – Leeds Avenue
• Route 104 – Montague Avenue
• Route 203 – Medical Shuttle
• Route 301 – Glenn McConnell Connector

Regular adult bus fares are $2.00 per trip and transfers are free. Special fares are available for senior citizens, staff, faculty and students. Children aged six and younger ride for free when they are accompanied by a paying passenger. Students in grades K-12 ride free (school I.D. Cards are encouraged).

Seniors aged 55 years and older pay $1.00 for Fixed Route and Express services Drivers may request proof of age (Medicare cards or an I.D. card with date of birth will be accepted).

Disabled patrons or passengers with a valid Tel-A-Ride I.D. card can ride Fixed Route services for free every day, all day.

CARTA Express is a commuter-style service with limited stops which provide service from the suburbs to downtown Charleston. CARTA Express buses are full-sized commuter-style buses with reclining, upholstered “airline-style” seats, reading lights and overhead luggage racks. The fare for any Express route is $3.50 per one-way ride; most riders board for free using an MUSC ID or College of Charleston ID.

As of March 2026, there are three active CARTA Express routes:

• Express 1 – North Charleston/James Island
• Express 2 – West Ashley/Mount Pleasant
• Express 3 – Dorchester Rd/Summerville

The Downtown Area Shuttle (or DASH) is a group of free routes which run in the downtown area. DASH services began in 1978 with the help of a federal grant.

• Route 210 – CofC/Aquarium DASH
• Route 211 – Meeting/King DASH
• Route 213 – Lockwood/Calhoun DASH

If passengers are unable to get to a bus, Tel-A-Ride comes to them within a defined Tel-A-Ride Service area. Curbside service is available for those who meet the requirements for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Smaller “neighborhood” buses are used for the CARTA Tel-A-Ride service offering both single-door entry and wheelchair accessibility.

Tel-A-Ride fares are $4.00 per trip.

The Beach Reach Shuttle is a seasonal route operated between the Mount Pleasant Towne Centre and the Isle of Palms.^[10] It provides free service on the weekends during the summer tourist season. The service was launched in 2021 to provide easier public access to local beaches while reducing traffic congestion and parking demand on Isle of Palms.^[11] Funding for the route is split three ways between CARTA, the Town of Mount Pleasant, and the City of Isle of Palms. The service has been criticized for high costs-per-rider and low ridership.^[12][13]

CARTA@Night was a late-night bus service implemented to take passengers to any stop within four designated “zones” after most regular bus service had ended. This service was discontinued in December 2010 due to budget problems.^[14]

The North Area Shuttle (or NASH) was a bus route that connected visitors with attractions in North Charleston, including Park Circle, the Tanger Outlet Center, the North Charleston Visitors Center, the North Charleston Coliseum, and the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. The service was cancelled in June 2014 due to low ridership.^[15]

• North Charleston Intermodal Transportation Center
• Lowcountry Rapid Transit
• Best Friend of Charleston

• Media related to Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority at Wikimedia Commons