CARTA to give away 16 refurbished lost-and-found bikes

Many public transit trips begin with a bike ride or lengthy walk and this holiday season the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) wants to help riders overcome what’s been dubbed the first-mile/last-mile problem – and also spread some Christmas cheer.

CARTA has partnered with Affordabike to refurbish 16 lost-and-found bicycles that will be given away to riders over the next couple of weeks in order to help them navigate walks of more than a quarter mile to their stop or final destination. A quarter-mile is roughly the maximum distance that most people find “comfortable” to walk to a stop.

Riders who could use two new wheels – or individuals who know someone who fits the bill – can submit requests/nominations through Dec. 20 by:

Emailing [email protected] (Subject: CARTA Bike)
Messaging the CARTA Facebook account
Tagging @RideCARTA on Twitter

All CARTA buses, except free DASH shuttles, are equipped with bike racks as part of the system’s no-cost and easy-to-use Rack and Ride program.

Recipients will be selected by CARTA staff. One of the bikes will be given away through a drawing at the BCDCOG’s Walk + Bike BCD meeting Dec.13 at the former Navy Hospital. That drop-in event is scheduled from 3 – 8p.m.

About CARTA

 The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) is a public transportation system dedicated to providing affordable transit to the Charleston community through fixed routes, Tel-A-Ride/demand service and express routes. For the latest on CARTA, visit www.ridecarta.com, like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter at @RideCARTA. All customers are encouraged to map rides and track buses with Google’s Transit program and the CARTA Bus Tracker.