Apply for the Citizens Transit Academy

Greenlink's Citizens Transit Academy (CTA) is a free, six-week program designed to offer Greenville County residents a unique opportunity to learn about public transportation and the opportunities and challenges facing Greenlink. Classes will take place on Tuesday nights from January 9-February 13, 2024. Complete the application by October 31!

Do you have questions about the CTA? Attend a networking event with CTA alumni to hear about their experiences. Registration is required for these events.

Greenlink Poetry Project

The ability to access reliable transportation impacts lives, and the needs of individual passengers are unique, whether it's getting to work or school, or visiting family and friends.

Through a partnership with City of Greenville Poet Laureate Glenis Redmond, local poets conducted interviews with seven Greenlink bus riders. The poets used their stories to inspire a collection of poems around the theme, "Why I Ride."

Read the poems on Greenlink’s website.

Watch the full playlist of the poets reading their poems on YouTube.

Want to hear the poems read in person? Poets will read their poems at the Say What?! Poetry Open Mic event at Coffee Underground on Sunday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.

Try Transit Month

Greenlink plans a month-long itinerary of events and promotions every October to introduce Greenlink and its services to the greater Greenville community. This year’s itinerary includes:

Play Try Transit Bingo – Enter a drawing for Greenlink prizes by completing 4 actions to cross off a row, column, or diagonal line on the Try Transit Bingo Card. Submit your completed card to nmcaden@greenvillesc.gov by October 31.
Free Passes for Students – Calling all students! Have you ever wanted to ride the bus? Take your first rides for free with a free day pass!
Passenger Orientation – Looking to familiarize yourself with transit? Learn how to plan your trip, pay your fare, and more. Orientations are held on the 2^nd Thursday of each month. Registration is required.
Free Passes for Umo App Users – The Umo app allows Greenlink passengers to pay their bus fares using their smartphones. No need to dig for coins! To encourage users to download the app and “try transit,” app users will receive an app push notification on October 20 with a benefit code for a free day pass.

Fare Free Day – October 13

Fall for Greenville is one of the largest food and music festivals in the south and attracts hundreds of thousands of attendees. If you’re planning to attend, leave the car at home!

Greenville Connects is sponsoring a Fare Free Day on Friday, October 13, in celebration of the festival. Hop aboard any fixed route bus and ride for free! Paratransit customers will also receive free rides, but reservations must be made by October 12.

Customers are also encouraged to download the Transit app in the Android or iOS app store to get real-time arrival information for the buses and plan their bus trips. Learn more about Greenville Connects at https://greenvilleconnects.org/.

Bus Ride-Along with a Leader

Would you like to have a conversation about transportation and mobility with a local leader?

This is your chance to claim a seat on the bus with one of our decision-makers to hear about their vision for transportation and ask questions about transit. Tickets are limited to facilitate productive discussions and ensure enough seats are available for other passengers who need to use Greenlink’s services to go about their day. Scheduled rides at this time include:

Dorothy Dowe, Greenville City Council – Wednesday, October 11 at 10:30 a.m.
Walker Smith, GTA Chair – Wednesday, October 18 at 11:30 a.m.
Shannon Lavrin, Greenville City Manager – Friday, October 27 at 11:30 a.m.

Check back on Greenlink’s website for an updated list throughout October. Registration is required at Eventbrite.com.

Greenlink Grant Awards

Greenlink is excited to announce two recent grant awards:

In June 2023, the Federal Transit Administration awarded the Greenville Transit Authority (GTA) with $6.3 million through the 5339(c) Low and No Emissions Grant program. These funds will be used to purchase low-emission compressed natural gas (CNG) buses that will replace existing diesel buses that have exceeded their useful life, install a CNG fueling station at the new maintenance facility, and provide CNG-related training to our mechanics. You may access the full list of grant recipients here.
In September 2023, the United Way of Greenville County awarded a joint grant application to Greenlink, Greenville Connects, Bike Walk Greenville, and the Upstate Trails and Greenways Alliance. A portion of the grant funding will be set aside for Greenlink to outsource a project manager to oversee the $5.8 million in bus stop upgrades via the RAISE grant award and to outsource professional recruiting services to help fill bus driver and mechanic vacancies.

Video Spotlight: Greenlink MythBusters

A common reservation voiced by individuals who have never used Greenlink’s services is that they’re intimidated by the process. They aren’t sure how to plan their trip. What if they miss the bus? How do they pay for the bus?

In this edition of MythBusters, Layla helps to dispel the misconception that riding the bus is complicated!