Salem bus spur discussed

Salem leaders told consultants for the county there is interest in their rural area in bus passenger service, similar to what is available in Seneca and Clemson. The Columbia firm URS Consultants has begun an update of a four-year old study that looked at the potential of expanding “CAT” service to other parts of Oconee County. Salem is an area whose residents must go elsewhere for doctor, pharmacy, groceries, and other services. URS’s Ernie Boughman suggested the solution might be a loop route that would send buses from Seneca to Walhalla, West Union, and Westminster, with a spur route to Salem. Such a spur route might be feasible, Boughman said, if riders made pick up appointments and met the bus at a landmark, such as the Town Hall. Salem took advantage of the first chance last night to weigh-in on the updated study, which could reach Oconee County Council by the end of the year or the first part of 2013. Other bus study meetings will take place in other Oconee towns.