Greenville council approves application for $2.47 million transit grant; on-demand pilot, shelters and a new bus planned

Greenville City Council on Sept. 11 unanimously authorized staff to apply for Federal Transit Administration Section 5307 funds totaling $2,470,000 to support operating and capital costs for Greenville Area Transit. The council held a public hearing and approved a resolution to file the grant application. The grant request covers operating expenses, preventive maintenance, ADA paratransit and rolling stock, city staff told the council. "The total amount that is available to us is 2,470,000.00," Director of Public Works Kevin Mulligan said during his presentation. He described line-item allocations the city will seek and how state assistance reduces the local share. Council members and staff said the money will help launch a pilot on‑demand service in a North-of-the-River zone, buy a replacement bus and install passenger facilities. The city plans a soft rollout of on‑demand service in mid‑October using recently acquired vehicles; Mulligan said 15‑passenger vans and three minivans have arrived and been branded. The council was told the city budgets roughly $660,000 for rolling stock (the estimated cost of a bus), $625,000 for preventive maintenance and roughly $400,000–$500,000 for ADA/paratransit, and that state SMAP funds of $475,000 would reduce the city—s local share to about $947,000. Mulligan said the on‑demand pilot will initially run alongside an existing fixed route for about a month and then transition to two on‑demand vans replacing the former Route 4 bus. He also said the city is integrating a new electronic fare box and payment system and anticipates buying one new bus this fiscal year. The council asked for timelines for shelters and benches; Mulligan said four truckloads of shelters and benches are scheduled for first delivery around Nov. 15, with staged installations over subsequent months. He noted the city will place benches at all stops and install 32 shelters (criteria: six or more boardings per day), roughly 25% of stops, with exact placement determined by passenger counts from the automatic passenger counting system. The council also discussed service hours and frequency. Mulligan said transit hours expanded to 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays with Saturday service; staff plan to reduce some route headways as on‑demand pilots expand. Council members pressed on funding limits and whether allocations are population‑based; Mulligan said FTA allocations are determined by formula factors such as population, miles and passenger trips and that the grant amount applied for is the city—s available allocation. After public comment (none on the grant) and council discussion, Council Member Foreman moved and Council Member Robinson seconded the resolution; the motion passed 5–0. Staff committed to return with follow‑up reporting on pilot results and installation schedules for shelters and benches.