By Lydia Dishman
SCBIZ Daily Contributing Writer

GREENVILLE -- Greenville Mayor Knox White used photographs of a bus shelter whose roof was sliding off and a dingy, empty terminal to illustrate just how bad the Greenville Transit Authority was just seven months ago.

What the pictures didn’t show were the details of a laundry list of complaints made by citizens and bus riders about sub-standard conditions of the entire fleet. 

“They complained about leaks,” White said, “When the city did an assessment, and it rained, we found out it was more like a waterfall.”

Though his quip about passengers being issued umbrellas evoked hearty laughter from members of the Downtown Rotary Club, White said the system was in dire need of an overhaul during a presentation Tuesday at the Poinsett Hotel.

That troubled GTA system was turned over to the City of Greenville in March. White explained that, during the past few months, the city got to work on a 10-point plan that included a major facelift for the old fleet and a new name, “Greenlink,” as well as multiple passenger safety improvements.

But he believes Greenlink still has a long way to go. “It is something that weighs heavily on me,” White said.

Comparing it to other cities with public transportation, such as Charleston and Columbia, White said Greenville’s fleet of 15 buses is out of proportion to serve a population of more than 900,000 people. He also noted that county residents are woefully underserved by the existing 11 routes.

“We’ve got to get to work to increase ridership,” he said.

Kim Cosby, director of Transportation, Parking, Transit and Enforcement, said this was perhaps Greenlink’s biggest challenge. “We are dealing with changing mindsets here. It is a socio-economic issue,” she noted, explaining that passengers tend to be from a lower income bracket.

Though she asserted that providing safe transportation is Greenlink’s first order of business, Cosby said that changing the mindset is equally important to the long-term success of the system.

“It is something that affects everybody,” she said, listing air quality and the ability to get to work as two examples.

Citing the success of Charlotte’s 9-mile light rail system, White focused on the economic development potential of expanding Greenville’s bus routes. He suggested using an old railbed in the city of Greenville to establish a rapid bus route that would provide fast, affordable transportation and encourage the growth of new businesses along the route.

“The city of Charlotte invested $400 million for the light rail system. Building along that rail line brought $2 million in development,” he said.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for redevelopment,” White said, pointing out that the CU-ICAR campus is located along the proposed rapid bus route.

With an operating budget of more than $3 million and “90 percent paid by federal dollars,” White was confident that the next five years would bring major developments to the fledgling system.

“This is a necessity for a community that wants to be green and what we have to have to be competitive in the future,” he said.