City of Seneca ending bus service

SENECA, S.C. (WSPA) — The City of Seneca is shutting down its free-fare bus system. City Council voted Tuesday to end its Catbus services in 60 days.

“We were the first electric free fare bus system in the country, some would argue in the world,” Scott Moulder, Seneca’s city administrator, said. “We started this almost two decades ago. We were the model that everyone built off of. It’s come to a point now where we can not financially and mechanically sustain the system.”

The city has operated its all-electric fleet of buses for years, which travel around the city stopping in downtown Seneca, at grocery stores and at a local hospital. When the manufacturer that sold the buses to Seneca went bankrupt, Moulder said it became difficult to maintain the buses and equipment.

“We can no longer get service,” Moulder said. “We can no longer get parts. As the buses and chargers have difficulties, we have no way of getting them back online. Four of our six buses have actually been out of service for two years.”

The city looked into buying a new fleet of buses, but Moulder said the price tag is too high.

“Each bus, we’re looking at close to $1 million in order to buy a bus so you’d be talking about close to $6 million,” Moulder said.

Susan Lombardo learned of the city’s decision Wednesday. She said it will impact her clients who take the bus to her office.

“My reaction was jaw drop,” Lombardo said. “How is that going to affect our community because I know our community uses that route. That was the one of the main reasons we moved into this building years ago was to be on the bus route so our clients that do not have transportation can get to us.”

The city is now speaking with local nonprofits and ride-to-work groups to find other transportation options for those who rely on buses to get around.

“We will not stop looking for ways to fill the gap and subsidize transportation for people who need it,” Moulder said.

“I hope they can come up with some sort of a solution because it’s going to deeply affect our clients getting here,” Lombardo said.

The city plans to have public meetings about the bus service in the next few weeks. The dates have not yet been released.

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