Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority

The Comet

Founded	2002
Headquarters	3613 Lucius Road
Locale	Columbia, South Carolina
Service area	Richland and Lexington Counties, South Carolina
Service type	bus service
Routes	27
Fuel type	Diesel and Compressed Natural Gas
Website	catchthecomet.org

The Comet, officially the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (CMRTA), is the operator of mass transportation in Richland and Lexington counties in the Columbia metropolitan area of South Carolina. Eighteen standard, all-day routes serve metropolitan Columbia, while eight peak hour routes and one weekend special are also operated by the transit agency.

Until 2002, the public transit system in Columbia was operated by the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), a successor of a former streetcar system. The city of Columbia signed a deal with SCE&G in December 2001 to take over the transit system effective the following year, in exchange for a 30-year utilities franchise. The Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (CMRTA) was established in 2002 and contracted Connex to operate its bus routes beginning in October 2002.

For the first 10 years of operation, the CMRTA relied heavily on transitional funds from SCE&G to fund service. After a $2.5 million funding shortfall and bus service cuts in 2010, the CMRTA Board placed a sales tax on the November ballot to fund transit; the tax measure failed by 2,200 votes. On November 6, 2012, voters in Lexington and Richland counties approved a one-cent sales tax to fund public transit service. A government activist filed a lawsuit in late 2012, arguing that the election had been subject to widespread disenfranchisement. The South Carolina Supreme Court upheld the election and tax in March 2013, dismissing the case and allowing planning on service restoration to continue.

In April 2013, the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority re-branded itself as "The COMET" with new liveries and branding to follow.

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