Ben Pratt, who drives the North Anderson route and a southbound route in the afternoon, waits to board Bus 126 on Wednesday. Pratt said ridership for his North Anderson route has at least doubled since he took over the route at the end of 2024. Caleb Amick | The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON — For many who ride Anderson city buses, it’s more than just a convenience.
Christy Quear has been a regular bus rider for six years. She needs transportation to get her son from place to place. Plus, she has to have a way to and from her job with the Animal Protection League.
“I don’t drive,” Quear said. “My son has special needs and the drivers are amazing with him. I love all the drivers.”
And she deeply appreciates the dependability of the City of Anderson Transit System.
“Without the buses, it would put me in a real bind,” Quear emphasized. “I ride almost every day.”
The more than 10,000 local residents who use Anderson city buses each month all have their own stories to tell, stories that are better because of public transportation.
CATS has averaged more than 120,000 bus riders and more than 20,000 riders on Nifty Lift vehicles annually, according to Merle Jones, general manager of the system.
Ridership numbers have remained constant, Jones said.
The city is expecting to take delivery of nine new city buses in the near future and five Nifty Lift vehicles through a grant program. Jones said the city will retain two or three of the current buses in service to keep as reserves in the future.
The busiest of the seven fixed bus routes are on Columbus Avenue and to the shopping centers on the south side of Anderson.
The charge is $1 per ride, but only 50 cents for the elderly and handicapped. A Nifty Lift ride is $2. Passes for 15 to 31 days run from $12 to $24.
Toni Lawr rides the CATS buses almost every day and was traveling to a doctor appointment Wednesday.
“Normally, I ride the bus to where I work at the Dollar Tree,” she said. “I know the drivers and they’re very friendly.”
Lawr said without the bus service she would have to walk from downtown to get to work.
“I take the last bus home,” she said. “I like the conversations with the drivers and the other people I meet on the bus. You get to know the people.”
Tiffany Rose rides the buses at least twice a week to the downtown area and south of the city. She has been riding for two years.
“I was walking,” said Rose, who had visited the Anderson Public Library on Wednesday. “The buses helped a lot when I was working part-time.”
Rose normally buys a twoweek bus pass.
Casey Hefferman was using a CATS bus Wednesday to get to a job interview.
“If not for the bus, I would have to walk,” he said. “I ride the buses quite a lot.”
Most of the bus riders interviewed by The Herald Bulletin cited the helpfulness of the city’s bus drivers.
Jerrika Hensley has been a driver for one year. She runs the Columbus Avenue route.
“I do know about all the riders,” she said. “I know where they’re getting off without having to ask.”
Hensley said she tries to learn the names of all the regular riders so she can have a personal relationship with them.
“I’m excited about the new buses,” she said.
Ben Pratt has been a driver for 13 years. He said many new riders have used the service in recent weeks.
“Just yesterday I had a woman from Russia who didn’t speak English,” he said. “But I was able to figure out where she was going.”
The hardest part of driving a bus is dealing with inattentive motorists, particularly in the winter months, according to Pratt.
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