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Jessica Nelms

Clemson University students prepare to board one of the CAT buses in Clemson. Oconee County officials want to add service to areas near Walhalla, Westminster, West Union and Salem.

WALHALLA — Oconee County is taking steps toward initiating free bus service similar to that enjoyed by Seneca residents through Clemson Area Transit (CAT).

County officials soon will be looking at bus-route analyses and costs associated with purchasing, operating and maintaining at least three buses.

County Council Transportation Committee Chairman Joel Thrift and Councilmen Paul Corbeil and Wayne McCall expressed a desire to have the bus service available to residents in Walhalla, Westminster, West Union and Salem.

The first step in the process is to get representatives from the municipalities to meet and discuss the type of bus service they would like, and more importantly, whether they would commit to sharing in the costs of providing the service.

Representatives from CAT and Seneca presented county officials with an overview of the current service, passenger numbers and demographic trends.

CAT Executive Director Al Babinicz said that from October 2002 through September 2009 the number of passengers riding CAT buses has skyrocketed almost 574 percent from 3,239 to 21,815.

Babinicz said with Oconee attracting its share of the 10,000 baby boomers retiring each day, he expects ridership numbers to continue increasing. He said 71 percent of seniors polled say they want to live within walking distance of public transportation.

Seneca City Administrator Greg Dietterick said Seneca is the clearinghouse for public transportation grants that come to the county.

Seneca Planning and Development Director Ed Halbig said federal and state matching grants for public transportation are generous. For instance, he said the city picks up just 10 percent of maintenance costs because of matching grants.

However, Dietterick said the municipalities must know up front that they have to “pay to play.”

“There are percentages they need to come up with,” Dietterick added. “You guys decide how much you want to share.”

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