Shuttle company shuts down service between Hilton Head, Savannah airport

After today, travelers who relied upon HTA Enterprises to get between Hilton Head Island and the Savannah-HIlton Head International Airport will need to make different arrangements.

The parent company of Gray Line-Low Country Adventures will discontinue its Airport Express Shuttle between Hilton Head and the Savannah airport at the close of business today, the Savannah Airport Commission announced.

The company, which will continue to offer prearranged trips for individuals and groups, had an exclusive contract to provide regularly scheduled service to and from several locations on Hilton Head and in Bluffton.

The company had done that since Aug. 10, but the number of riders has been far below that necessary to support the service financially, CEO and managing partner Todd McElmurray said.

The company projected it would need at least 30,000 riders a year to make the service profitable but was on pace for less than 5,000, McElmurray said.

"I'm just not sure there will ever be enough ridership to support a true shuttle system," McElmurray said. "It's just become obvious the scheduled service is not going to be effective."

The service cost a passenger $49 one-way and $93 for a round-trip for Hilton Head stops, and $43 one-way and $81 round-trip for Bluffton stops. Discounts were available for multiple passengers.

The company previously operated a shuttle service that picked up passengers at their door and met every arriving flight. That was successful for many years but became less so as taxis expanded into the market and rental cars became less expensive, McElmurray said.

Patrick Graham, executive director of the Savannah-Hilton Head airport, said the announcement was "unfortunate."

"This is the second time that this company has offered shuttle service to Hilton Head Island, and both times, the Hilton Head traffic did not support the service," he said in the commission's news release.

The Savannah Airport Commission will take no action to replace the shuttle service because the Savannah-Hilton Head airport's off season is from November through February. The commission will re-evaluate the feasibility of a service to resume in spring 2010, according to the release.