CARTA Beach Reach shuttles to Isle of Palms return this week

The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority’s annual Beach Reach Shuttle service returns this week, delivering a free park-and-ride transit service connecting the town of Mount Pleasant to the Isle of Palms through the summer.

The Beach Reach Shuttle service begins on Memorial Day (May 25) and runs through Labor Day (Sept. 2). The shuttles are perfect for Mount Pleasant residents who don’t want to deal with the hassle of IOP parking, or for out-of-towners who can take CARTA’s regular buses to Mount Pleasant before jumping on the free shuttles to the beach.

Shuttles will travel between the CARTA stop at Mount Pleasant Towne Centre on Market Center Boulevard and the Isle of Palms stop at Ocean Boulevard. Towne Centre is partnering with CARTA to provide parking to shuttle riders near its stop location. Additional parking is available throughout Towne Centre where space is available.

CARTA is reminding passengers to adhere to the following rules on shuttles:

All drinks must be in a spill-proof container.
No alcoholic beverages are allowed.
Limited bags and large items — riders are allowed to bring up to four regular shopping-sized bags. All items must be able to be loaded onto the bus in a single trip.
No large, bulky beach items allowed, including tents, large beach umbrellas, surf boards, etc. Items such as chairs, small umbrellas, boogie or body-boards and coolers are allowed but must adhere to other rules listed here.
Beach equipment must be able to be held by riders or stowed safely beneath the seat.
Shoes/flip-flops, pants/shorts and a shirt are required while riding the bus. Cover-ups are also acceptable.
If you, or anyone in your party is wet, please have a towel or mat to sit on.
Bikes should be placed on the bike rack in the front of the bus.

The Beach Reach Shuttle service runs every weekend from May 25 to Sept. 2, with special holiday hours for Memorial Day (May 25), Independence Day (July 4-5) and Labor Day (Sept. 2). Shuttles are expected to run every hour starting at 9:15 a.m. on Saturdays with a final trip from the beach at 5:30 p.m. On Sundays, the first trip is expected at 9:40 a.m. with the last trip from the beach at 5:55 p.m.

Heavy traffic volumes may impact shuttle schedules. Riders can download the TRANSIT app to plan their trip and track shuttles in real-time.