DARLINGTON, S.C. While some public transit agencies continue to look for ways to beat the federal charter service rule, at least one has adopted an entirely different view.

Pee Dee Transportation Authority of Florence, S.C., not only shies away from possibly violating the regulation that limits transit charter work, but it is willing to give up some transportation jobs even when it has the right to do them.

The transit authority turned down an opportunity last month to provide shuttle service for the popular Southern 500 NASCAR race at Darlington Raceway and allowed two private motorcoach operators to handle it.

And, it didnt just give it up - it also helped the companies prepare for the job and then advertised the service on its website.

"We just felt that there was a need for it," said Pee Dee General Manager Janice M. Baroody.

She said her decision was triggered by a mistake the raceway made in its fan magazine published ahead of the May 9 race. In it, track officials announced that Pee Dee would be providing hotel shuttles for the race at a cost of $5 for a one-way trip.

"I dont know where they got the information, but it was wrong," she said.

The announcement caught the eye of Bob Garrett, owner of Sunshine Travel Express in nearby Lancaster, who had been looking for a way to possibly take over the service that Pee Dee had been providing in recent years.

He complained to Ken Presley, vice president of the United Motorcoach Association, who promptly telephoned Baroody and learned that the announcement in the magazine was wrong.

Baroody explained that Pee Dee provided the service in the past by simply extending the operating hours of an existing route that included most of the hotels and the race track, opening it up to everyone and charging its regular $3 fare.

Under the charter rule, transit agencies legally may extend regular routes for such service as long as it is an open-door operation and the fare is not increased.

Although Baroody was planning to again provide the same service for this years race, she had second thoughts because of the announcement of the $5 shuttle rides.

"I didnt want someone to file a charter complaint against us so I figured it would be better for us not to do it," she said, noting that it was never much of a money maker because her drivers had to be paid overtime.

Although race day was less than two weeks away, Garrett jumped at the opportunity and brought in friendly competitor Sandra Haigler of Lancaster Trailways to help.

Baroody pitched in, too. She arranged for a supervisor to give the two private operators a personal tour of the 13-mile shuttle route to the race track, posted a notice of the service on the Pee Dee website and had her staff forward all public inquires about the service to the private companies.

"Its our community and we wanted to help provide service to our community," she emphasized.

The service also got an assist from the Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau, which helped set up a shuttle stop at the citys convention center parking lot and made sure the hotels and their guests were aware of the new shuttle service.

The two private operators said the assistance they received - especially from Pee Dee - was key to the success of the operation, which ran smoothly and drew more than 800 riders.

"Without their help we would have had a very difficult time with the transition," noted Garrett.

Haigler singled out Baroody for her cooperation, pointing out that she and her team went above and beyond in helping make the shuttle service a success.

"This is a prime example of how a transit authority and the private sector can and should be willing to help one another," she said.

Baroody said she enjoyed working with the two private operators and is hopeful she can send more business their way in the future.

Meantime, Garrett and Haigler already are looking forward to next years race when they will have much more time to prepare. In their sights are expanding the service to other hotels that were not on the route this year and adjusting the price upward from the $5 that they agreed to charge this year because of the erroneous announcement made by the raceway.

"If we have the opportunity to do it again next year, well tweak it here and there," said Haigler.