New Palmetto Breeze routes begin in Bluffton this summer. When and where you can ride
Bluffton’s ever-growing workforce will have two new ways to get to work as the Lowcountry’s transit authority, Palmetto Breeze, rolls out new routes for several of the town’s largest employers and apartment complexes.
At a Bluffton Town Council meeting last week, Palmetto Breeze director Mary Lou Franzoni detailed what the new Bluffton Parkway route and Buckwalter Parkway routes would look like. They have already been approved by the town.
The routes, both an hour long, are slated to begin July 1, and unlike most Palmetto Breeze routes that seek to bring people from outside the county in, they target Bluffton residents. They’re one of several initiatives paid for by a $1.2 million urban grant awarded to Palmetto Breeze to expand transportation as Hilton Head and Bluffton grow.
The Bluffton Parkway route services several housing complexes on the parkway and Simmonsville Road, including the Bluestone, Bridge Pointe and Avalon Shores. It stops at Marshall’s, Tanger 1, Walmart and Sam’s Club, and the Publix on Buck Island Road and Buckwalter Regional Park, before meeting the other route at Buckwalter Place. From there, the Buckwalter Parkway route picks up at Berkeley Place and Vineyard Assisted Living and Memory Care before snaking back.
Each route will cost $1 to ride, Franzoni said at the March 9 meeting, but Palmetto Breeze plans to introduce a weekly fare to allow commuters to ride unlimited for a flat fee. That price has not been set yet.
“The focus is to get people moving around without their cars conveniently and in a way that we serve as many job sites and residents and recreation areas,” Franzoni said.
Palmetto Breeze aims to serve about 10 passengers per hour between the two routes, she said. The Buckwalter route also is cushioned with extra time that may be used to add another stop down the line.
Palmetto Breeze is currently redesigning its Bluffton to Hilton Head route, Franzoni said, and plans to connect the updated one to the new Buckwalter and Bluffton Parkway routes.
Bluffton council member Bridgette Frazier said the routes are “definitely a well-needed service around here.”
“I think that will alleviate a lot of the concerns from workers who are looking for ways to get to work,” she said. “It seems like a good trade-off for employers in that they will have a means of transportation for their workers.”
