Did You Know?

Did you know that The COMET has made remarkable strides since 2012 because of the Richland County Penny Tax?

Your penny really is at work with The COMET. With the Richland County Penny Tax, of which The COMET receives one-third, The COMET has been able to improve services in many ways.

Since 2012, because of the voters of Richland County, The COMET has:

• Doubled ridership from 1.4 million passenger rides in 2012 to 2.1 million passenger rides in 2021.
• Increased miles traveled by The COMET buses 41% — from 1,676,770 miles in 2012 to 2,363,895 miles in 2021.
• Increased the frequency of popular routes, while reducing non-popular routes.
• Reduced waiting times and restructured express routes to better connect people to employment sites in their service area.
• Increased On Time Performance from running 39% on time to more than 78% running on time. 
• Increased the number of routes from 18 in 2012 to 47 in 2022.
• Added 160 bus shelters and 114 benches since 2012. 
• Added 29 buses to its fleet, bringing its total from 68 buses in 2012 to 97 buses in 2021.

In addition, The COMET has plans to add a few new electric buses to its fleet before the year is out!

At The COMET, we are grateful for the continued support from the voters of Richland County and we are excited for what is to come.

Learn more about The Richland County Penny Tax here, richlandpenny.com.