COVID-19 Resources

Catch The COMET to Get Your Vaccine

The COMET transit services are always available to get you to where you need to go. However, to receive the vaccine, you must first:

Check to see if it’s your turn using the link below.

scdhec.gov/vaxfacts

If it IS your turn, find a location and make an appointment by using the link or calling DHEC staff 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., 7 days a week at 866.365.8110.

scdhec.gov/vaxlocator

Don’t Miss Your Shot!

Free rides to vaccination sites via The COMET.

You can ride The COMET for free to take you where you need to go to receive your vaccine. Below are the major vaccination locations and corresponding COMET routes. You may need to show proof of your vaccine appointment to the bus operator.

Columbia VA
Health Care System

See Routes

See Routes

Don’t see your location?

View other locations here.

If you are 65 years of age or older and/or you have a disability, our services are here for you.

DART

Provided within 3/4 of a mile of either side of a The COMET shared, non-express, fixed route bus.

Call 803.255.7123 for reservations Monday – Friday, 9-5. Specify that you are going to your COVID-19 vaccine appointment. You may need to show proof of your vaccine appointment to the bus operator.

PUP
Mobility Program:
The COMET Pick Up Program

The COMET Pick Up Program gives you a debit card to pay up to $50 a month in taxi, Lyft or Uber rides. Registration required.

Available if you:
1. Live outside The COMET service area.
2. Live inside Richland or Lexington County.
3. Live inside the Columbia Urbanized Area.

Call Brittany Terry, Mobility Management Specialist to register and get started at 803-834-2382 (TTY/TDD: 711) or email: [email protected].

V-TRIP Mobility Program: Volunteer Transportation Program

V-TRIP lets riders get money back to pay the people in their life who drive them. If you have a friend from church, work, school, or the neighborhood, who gives you a ride this program may help cover gas. You can travel up to 100 miles a month and a list of trips made must be submitted monthly to be reimbursed. Registration required.

Still have questions about transportation to your appointment?

Call us at 803.255.7100

COVID-19 Testing

Through a partnership with DHEC, The COMET has set up a testing kiosk at COMET Central, the transit hub located on the corner of Sumter and Laurel streets.

Testing times:

Wednesday - Friday: 7 a.m. - noon
and 2:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

For more testing locations, click this link or call DHEC's staff 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., 7 days a week at 866.365.8110

The COMET Fights COVID

When the state and the country were suddenly struck with the COVID-19 pandemic and all the implications, The COMET went to work.

The COMET immediately worked to establish some of the most stringent cleaning and safety measures in the transit industry including mandating masks for all drivers and passengers, upgrading the buses with barriers between the drivers and passengers to minimize exposure, following protocols for tracing and tracking, requiring bus operators and staff to use multiple temperature check stations upon reporting for shifts and increasing disinfection of all vehicles and facilities. Along with the daily sanitizing of facilities, The COMET established a process to notify the public if a customer-facing employee tests positive for COVID-19 for the purpose of contact tracing to minimize spread. The COMET is working hard to keep the community safe while continuing to provide vital transportation to the people of the Midlands.

COVID Rules of the Road to Remember

Masks or other face coverings must be worn to access all COMET buses, vehicles and facilities. The bus will not move unless everyone is wearing a face covering or mask.

Travel on fixed route must be one-way to a specific location – no continuous riding without a destination.

Boarding some buses may require you to enter through the rear doors, unless you have a wheelchair or stroller or are disabled and needing assistance.