The Best Friend Express is Aiken County's public transit service. The green and white buses operate throughout 170 miles of the Aiken urbanized area every Monday through Saturday. The routes begin at approximately 5:00 AM and run until 7:30 PM. The buses themselves are comfortable "cut-aways" that can carry up to 20 passengers. Also, all of the vehicles are ADA compliant including wheelchair lifts.
The Aiken route travels through the northeast side of Aiken, past Aiken Regional Medical Center and USC-A. From there it goes out to Crosland Park, through the Downtown area, by DSS and the Employment Commission, and then down Whiskey Road to Aiken Mall.
The North Augusta route travels past USC-A and Aiken Regional Medical Center, and on through Graniteville. It follows HWY 421 through Midland Valley, including a stop at Aiken Tech. The bus proceeds to Clearwater-Belvedere Road, to travel to North Augusta Plaza, to WalMart, to DSS, past the NA City Municipal Building, turning onto Bluff Avenue. At Bluff Avenue the bus connects with Augusta Public Transit. Riders can transfer to Augusta or stay on the bus and proceed up West Avenue and return to Aiken.
One of the best customer benefits for a line as small as Aiken County's is the ability to flag down the bus anywhere along the route, not necessarily at bus stop signs. Passengers can also disembark anywhere that the driver deems safe to stop.
Fares
Adults - .75 cents
Students - .50 cents
Elderly/Disabled - .35 cents
** fare amounts are per zone
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