GTA Goals and Priorities

The Greenville Transit Authority (GTA) has been serving Greenville County since 1974. The Authority was created by Ordinances from the City of Greenville and Greenville County under the South Carolina Regional Transportation Authority Law. The Authority board members are appointed by three bodies: The Greenville County Legislative Delegation, Greenville County Council, and Greenville City Council.

In February 2021, GTA adopted the following Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals:

MISSION: To develop a sustainable transit system that connects people to prosperity, improves quality of life, and stimulates economic development.

VISION: To promote excellence in regional transportation by advocating for enhanced community mobility to create a more vibrant, sustainable, and equitable community.

VALUES:

Community Leadership - We engage the community in our decision making and seek partnerships to enhance the services we deliver.
Data Driven Solutions - We analyze qualitative and quantitative data as part of every operational decision.
Economic Growth - We believe public transit is essential to the economic vitality, environmental stability, and quality of life within the Greenville Region.
Environmental Commitment - We promote the use of environmentally friendly equipment and conduct our business in an environmentally responsible manner.
Fiscal Management - We consistently seek to improve cost efficiency in operation and approach all decision making with fiscal integrity and transparency.
Service Excellence - We strive to deliver convenient, comfortable, and reliable service to the community we serve.
Safety - We provide a safe and secure environment for our customers through consistent training of our employees.

GOALS:

To deliver a fully funded, effective transportation system that provides service until 11:30pm, 30-minute frequency by 2023, and Sunday service by 2025.
To build a new maintenance facility to improve operations and support fleet expansion.
To develop an environmentally friendly fleet of electric and low emission vehicles for future operations by placing a moratorium on heavy-duty diesel vehicles after the new maintenance facility is complete and to purchase sustainably-fueled (battery-electric or Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)) replacement and expansion revenue vehicles thereafter, unless sustainable alternatives are not available or do not meet demands of GTA’s service environment.
- GTA will purchase specific fuel source (battery-electric or CNG) vehicles if funding is specifically available for that option otherwise, GTA will purchase vehicles of fuel sources that allow for the meet the demands of the needed replacement or expansion.
Develop a source of sustainable funding.
Ensure sound fiscal and sustainable transportation management.
Promote organization-wide efficiency and effectiveness.
Collaborate with Housing and Planners to make our community more livable through enhanced transit service.
Explore opportunities to ensure our assets are meeting their highest and best use.
Facilitate innovative multimodal transportation systems for the Greenville Region.
Develop a viable alternative to the automobile through high-quality transportation options and services.

To accomplish these Goals, GTA is prioritizing the following initiatives:

Complete the Operations & Maintenance Facility. This project is crucial to provide the maintenance capacity required for any increases in fleet size. GTA’s fleet must expand if it hopes to implement later service hours, increase service frequency, or add Sunday service. Therefore, the facility must be complete before these improvements can move forward. While the project is underway, with an anticipated groundbreaking in the fall of 2022, unprecedented inflation has impacted the project budget and additional funding will be needed to complete construction.
Work with local partners and governments to commit local matching funds for future grant applications. This local match will help GTA submit grant requests for funding to help to replace or add new transit vehicles and fund other capital projects. Typically, local matching funds are required to cover 15% of the total cost of the vehicle (or cover 20% of the total cost for other projects). Commitments can be made in cash or through a Letter of Commitment to provide local funding upon grant award.
Fully fund the Transit Development Plan (TDP). The 2018 TDP identified service enhancements that would make transit more useful to Greenville County residents. The TDP was updated in 2021 to reflect more accurate cost estimates for the planned extension of service hours, decreases in service wait times, new Sunday service, new routes, and a county-wide demand response service. To improve transit in Greenville County, funding would be needed to run these services.