Spotlight: Bus 10

Bus 10 is the most heavily traveled CARTA route in the Charleston area. The only recent change in services that can be seen as positive is the increase in bus 10's runs, coming through every twenty minutes between 7am and 7pm on weekdays. And yet it is still often filled to capacity!

Mainly traversing Rivers Avenue, route 10 starts downtown at Meeting and Mary Street, comes up Meeting Street Extension to Rivers Avenue, stopping at Trident One-Stop before going to the Super Kmart then up Highway 78.  It loops around through the front of Charleston Southern University and behind Trident Medical Center to Health South before heading downtown again.

Stops of note on the Highway 78 end of the route include Wannamaker Park, CSU, Trident Hospital and Health South. If you haven't been out that way recently it's built up quite a bit. You'll find a CVS, Wendy's, Zaxby's and Sonic along with East Bay Deli, Brusters and several other restaurants, all within walking distance of the bus.

At Kmart you can transfer to bus 12 if you're going to Dorchester Rd. If you live in the Greenridge Road area there is no stop for bus 10 headed downtown. You have the option of walking to the  Kmart (1.5 miles) or to Northwoods Mall (1 mile). Or you can cross Rivers Avenue (8 lanes of traffic) to catch the bus headed to Trident Hospital and ride back around to get downtown. Depending on the driver you may have to pay a double fare to do so. Coming from Trident Hospital you can transfer to bus 12 at Kmart and get off at Dial America to avoid walking from Kmart or the mall to get back to Greenridge Road.

After Kmart major stops are Northwoods Mall, Ashley Phosphate Rd (Walmart), Trident Technical College, Trident One Stop, and Mall Drive where you can connect to bus 104 going to Tanger Outlets or Park Circle. Then of course there's the Super Stop at Cosgrove Avenue where you can transfer to a number of different buses. Once you get to Meeting and Mary that's considered a Super Stop as well, and there are multiple buses that you can connect to. From Meeting and Mary it's an easy walk to many restaurants, shops and tourist areas, and local events such as the Farmer's Market on Marion Square. If you're not sure about the stop, ask your driver when you get on. Quite a few stops are not marked.  

As a side note, the Super Stop at Cosgrove and Rivers does have rest rooms and vending machines, but you can't be sure it will be open. They seem to close it from time to time on a whim. The restrooms there are usually clean and stocked. The restroom at Meeting and Mary is often out of service and is not at all nice. It's worth taking a short walk to the other side of the parking garage in order to use the pretty bathrooms in the visitors center. They are always clean and well-stocked for the tourists!