What the Penny Sales Tax Would Fund for Public Transit

Public Transit

WHAT PROJECT (2) WOULD FUND

Greenlink is the public bus system serving Greenville County. It is operated by the City of Greenville under contract to the Greenville Transit Authority. Greenlink runs 12 fixed routes across the county, and every bus accommodates mobility devices. In February 2026, four of those routes moved to 30-minute service, the first step of a frequency rollout.

The ballot sets aside up to $33 million for mass transit over the life of the tax. The ordinance states that figure as a ceiling: no more than 3% of the tax collected, with a maximum of $33 million. Spread evenly across eight years, that is roughly $4 million a year.

Question 1 defines what counts as mass transit by pointing to an existing document. Eligible spending includes "the operation and expansion of the mass transit system as defined by Greenville Transit Authority's Transit Development Plan including improved frequency and enhanced routes." The Transit Development Plan, not the ballot, describes the specific service changes.