Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority was officially formed in June 1974 as the first RTA in the state of South Carolina. In August 1976, PDRTA began operations serving the six county Pee Dee regions of Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Marion, and Marlboro Counties. PDRTA's first customers in 1976 were a small group of people enrolled in the CETA (currently Workforce Investment) federal job training program. In 1988, PDRTA began transporting inland county residents to the Grand Strand for job opportunities. That tradition continued for over 30 years, with PDRTA being actively involved in the economic development of our region by transporting hundreds to work each day, either on our fixed route system, the Florence Transit system, or via demand-response/paratransit services. In the Spring of 2013 PDRTA was forced to end the Medicaid contract with the private broker. The costs associated with performing the service was much more than the revenue generated, and because of this PDRTA had to make many several tough decisions. The loss of Medicaid resulted in a 70% reduction in Operational and Administrative staff. PDRTA now offers fixed route service in Darlington, Florence, Lake City and Marion SC. All routes with the exception of Florence are considered Deviated Fixed Routes. PDRTA is the oldest RTA in South Carolina. PDRTA is self-managed, allowing it to directly oversee its business with the highest degree of integrity and efficiency.