Editing Columbia, South Carolina (section)

====Mass transit====
{{Main|The Comet (transit)}}
[[File:A COMET transit bus in Columbia, SC.jpg|thumb|A COMET transit bus in downtown Columbia]]
[[File:Rental bicycles in Columbia, SC.jpg|thumb|Bicycles available for rental in downtown Columbia]]
[[The Comet (transit)|The Comet]], officially the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority, is the agency responsible for operating mass transit in the greater Columbia area including [[Cayce, South Carolina|Cayce]], [[West Columbia, South Carolina|West Columbia]], [[Forest Acres]], [[Arcadia Lakes]], [[Springdale, Lexington County, South Carolina|Springdale]], [[Lexington, South Carolina|Lexington]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lex-co.sc.gov/Pages/CMRTA.aspx |title=CMRTA |access-date=September 14, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914134450/http://www.lex-co.sc.gov/Pages/CMRTA.aspx |archive-date=September 14, 2014}}</ref> and the St. Andrews area. COMET operates express shuttles, as well as bus service in Columbia and its immediate suburbs. The authority was established in October 2002 after SCANA released ownership of public transportation back to the city of Columbia. Since 2003, COMET has provided transportation for more than 2 million passengers, has expanded route services, and introduced 43 new ADA accessible buses offering a safer, more comfortable means of transportation. CMRTA has also added 10 natural gas powered buses to the fleet. Comet went under a name change and rebranding project in 2013. Before then, the system was called the Columbia Metropolitan Rapid Transit Association or "CMRTA".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://catchthecomet.org/about-us|title=About Us – The Comet |website=catchthecomet.org|access-date=May 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507231339/http://catchthecomet.org/about-us/|archive-date=May 7, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Additionally, COMET offers Dial-a-ride transit (DART), which provides personalized service passengers with disabilities.<ref>{{cite web |date=n.d. |title=The Comet Routes |url=http://catchthecometsc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/COMET_SysMap-May2019-Web.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://catchthecometsc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/COMET_SysMap-May2019-Web.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |access-date=28 June 2020 |publisher=The Central Midlands Transit Authority}}</ref> The [[University of South Carolina|University of South Carolina's]] transit system, which is maintained by COMET, services an additional 1,000,000 passengers annually.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Comet, University of South Carolina announce new contract |url=https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/press-release/21144319/central-midlands-regional-transit-authority-cmrta-the-comet-the-comet-university-of-south-carolina-announce-new-contract |access-date=7 June 2023 |website=masstransitmag.com}}</ref> [[Blue Cross Blue Shield]] provides rental bicycles in downtown Columbia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bluebikesc.com/|title=Blue Bike SC|publisher=Blue Cross Blue Shield|access-date=28 June 2020|archive-date=July 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702012041/https://bluebikesc.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref>