COLUMBIA, SC
A new year will bring some new features for the Midlands’ bus system, The COMET.
From changes for free downtown routes to new rideshare partnerships, some of the new features aim to make public transit in the Midlands “more than just buses,” said John Andoh, director of The COMET.
“We have to be a mobility agency. We need to find ways to carry people in the most efficient way possible. And that may sometimes mean utilizing bicycles and vanpools and ridesharing.”
Here’s a rundown of what you can expect from The COMET in the next few weeks and some new features that have just rolled out.
Pay more to ride
The cost of one-way bus trips and one-day all access passes will increase starting Jan. 28.
A regular one-way trip will cost $2, up from $1.50.
One-day all access bus passes will cost $4, up from $3.
The COMET will no longer sell five-day all access passes, 10-ride passes or DART tokens.
The price of seven-day all access passes will remain the same at $14, and 31-day all access passes will remain $40.
Half-priced fares and passes are still available for eligible riders, including senior citizens, riders with disabilities, veterans, Medicare card holders and riders between 16 and 18 years old. The costs for these fares will rise accordingly with the one-way and one-day prices.
Changes to free downtown routes
The free downtown Soda Cap Connector routes, which cover the Vista, Main Street and Five Points entertainment districts, have drawn low ridership in their first 16 months, Andoh said.
In an effort to more closely meet downtown commuters’ needs and attract more riders — did we mention it’s a free bus?! — the two Soda Cap routes will look a little different starting Jan. 28.
The Soda Cap hours of service will change to 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday through Wednesday and 9 a.m. to midnight on Thursday through Saturday.
New stops on State Street and Alexander Drive in Cayce and West Columbia will be added to the Vista-Main Street route. A second route will continue to travel between the Main Street and Five Points districts.
During the Fireflies’ baseball season, a third free Soda Cap route will run between Main Street and Spirit Communications Park at BullStreet.
The number of buses running the Soda Cap routes will be cut in half, to one bus per route. The buses will complete their loops about once every 30 minutes, an increase from the current 20-minute interval.
Uber and Lyft partnerships
The COMET recently began a new collaboration with Uber and Lyft aimed at meeting some public transportation needs for less than the cost of running buses.
Now, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. any night of the week, you can get $5 off an Uber or Lyft ride within The COMET’s service area. To get the discount, you must use a code that is only displayed inside COMET buses. The aim of this discount is to serve people traveling to and from jobs after the buses stop running for the night, Andoh said.
“It’s cheaper for us to subsidize a program like this than it is for us to run full bus routes” at odd hours when there aren’t many riders, Andoh said. “We had nighttime service before, and not enough people rode it. So we canceled it.”
The COMET is offering the same $5 off deal for bus riders who take an Uber or Lyft ride to or from a local grocery store within The COMET’s service area between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. any day of the week. Riders can get this discount by using the promo code COMETMARKET18 only for trips that begin or end at an approved grocery store. A list of stores is available at www.catchthecomet.org.
Bikeshare partnership
Starting Jan. 1, COMET bus riders can get a promotional code from their bus drivers for a free 45-minute ride on one of downtown Columbia’s new bikeshare Blue Bikes.
This discount is aimed at closing the gap between the nearest bus stop and a traveler’s actual starting or ending location, Andoh said.
And because the discount code can only be obtained from a bus driver, the bikeshare partnership is also hoped to increase bus ridership, Andoh said. As bus ridership increases, The COMET becomes eligible for more federal funding, Andoh said.
The COMET also plans to partner with the Blue Bike program to expand the number of bikeshare stations across downtown and into West Columbia and Cayce.
Vanpool partnership
Also starting Jan. 1, The COMET will pay $500 toward the monthly cost of a shared rental van for groups of Lexington County and Richland County work commuters through a contract with Enterprise rentals.
With a minimum of five people in your commuter group, you can sign up for the vanpool program at www.commutewithenterprise.com. If you don’t have five people in your group, the program will help you find people to join your group.
The total monthly cost of renting a commuter van is around $1,100, Andoh said. With the $500 discount from The COMET, a group of six or more people can share their work commutes for $100 or less each per month.
Similarly to the Uber and Lyft discount, the vanpool subsidy is a cheaper way for The COMET to help meet Midlands transportation needs without running full, expensive bus routes, Andoh said.