LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Public transportation being use, with planned increase use

By: Dear Editor: | SCNOW
Published: October 09, 2009

Public transportation being use, with planned increase use
This letter is in reply to Dave Hicklin’s letter published September 30.
During FY 08-09, PDRTA provided 323,771 passenger trips in the 6 county Pee Dee region. We provided 105,058 “fixed route” trips. Our fixed route service includes the Florence Transit System; Lake City-Myrtle Beach; Marion-Myrtle Beach; and our Chesterfield-Cheraw-Bennettsville route. The majority of passengers on these buses are people going to and from work. Without bus service, most would be unemployed.
The remaining 200,000-plus trips are part of our demand-response service. Most are medical trips done in cutaway type vehicles. We take people to and from doctor appointments, clinics, agencies, and hospitals. We also take people to work, shopping, or wherever they need to go when fixed route service is unavailable.
Florence is the medical hub of the Pee Dee. Every day, we have vehicles coming into Florence from Darlington, Cheraw, Dillon, Marion, Lake City and more.
Mr. Hicklin mentioned that he’s seen four PDRTA vehicles at the Cashua Drive dialysis center. Those clients come from four different communities, hence four vehicles going to four different destinations. He mentioned that he sees empty PDRTA vehicles there at 7 a.m., 11:45 a.m., and 4:30 p.m. As it happens, the first shift for dialysis clients begins at 7 a.m., so our vehicles have just dropped off the dialysis clients. Those clients are picked up at noon, so at 11:45 a.m., we’ve just dropped off the clients whose treatment begins at noon and are waiting for the 7 a.m. clients to board. The mid-day clients are ready at 5, so again, you will see empty vehicles waiting in the parking lot beginning at 4:30.
Mr. Hicklin, thank you for your letter and the opportunity to demonstrate that public transportation is being used now, and every indicator points to increased use in the future. Please do not hesitate to call us if you have questions about our operation. And should the day come when you need a ride, we hope you’ll call us then, too.