| Parent | Charlotte-Mecklenburg (Charmeck) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | 300 East Trade Street, Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Locale | City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County |
| Service area | Metrolina |
| Service type | Bus and Light Rail (as LYNX) |
| Routes | 50 local, 19 express |
| Stops | 3600 |
| Hubs | 4 |
| Stations | 10 (LYNX) 45 park and rides |
| Fleet | 501 (total) |
| Daily ridership | 83,100[1] |
| Fuel type | Diesel, Hybrid |
| Chief executive | Carolyn Flowers |
| Web site | CATS Home |
The Charlotte Area Transit System, commonly referred to as CATS, is the public transit system in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. It operates bus service around the Metrolina area and a historical trolley in Uptown Charlotte, and operates a light rail system, called LYNX which opened on November 24, 2007.
Carolyn Flowers is the system's current chief executive. Prior to her arrival in January 2010, Mrs. Flowers was the Chief Operating Officer of the LACMTA.[2]
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Bus transportation was provided by the Charlotte Department of Transportation under the branding known as Charlotte Transit, which was in existence from 1976 to 1999.[3] (Charlotte Transit is not to be confused with Charlotte Area Transit System despite the similarity in name.) Most routes were local, with virtually no express service to outlying areas with the exception of two express routes. But as Charlotte was on the way to being one of the fastest growing cities since the 1980s well into today, service became inadequate to serve the rapidly growing population alongside the city annexing especially toward the south and east portions which are now being built up as of the 1990s. So a referendum was passed in 1998 by Mecklenburg County citizens to approve a 1/2% sales tax to improve public transportation over the next few years. The move created the Metropolitan Transit Commission in 1999 to oversee improvements in Charlotte and nearby suburbs and bordering counties. It eventually led to consolidation of Charlotte Transit and MTC in 2000, forming the new Charlotte Area Transit System.[4] Since then, more express routes were added to the edges of Mecklenburg County and some local bus service was expanded, especially to the fast-growing South Charlotte. On August 19, 2007 the Charlotte Observer revealed that mass transit on Charlotte's existing bus-only system has increased ridership by 66% since 1998, but its operating budget had increased by 170% after adjusting for inflation.[5]
The charlotte Area Transit System fleet for the regular routes are 1998 Nova Bus LFS #s 799-914(some of those are retired due to mileage), 2004 Gillig Advantage #s 915-960, 2005 Gillig advantage Hybrid #2501-2502, 2007 Gillig Advantage BRT #961-968, 2010 Gillig Advantage BRT #s 1001-1020, 2011 Gillig Advantage BRT #s 1021-1040, 2011 Gillig Advantage Hybrid #s 2110-2116. Also, there are 2008 Gillig Advantage BRT #400-410, originally express buses, but these run regular routes. Express buses are 2001 MCI #s 500-510, and 2003 Gillig Phantom # 511-599. Circulator route buses are 2004 35 foot gillig advantage #s 610-625, and also 35 foot 2008 Gillig Advantage BRT 630-659. (All buses are 40 foot except for those 35 foot circulator buses). CATS also has green Sprinter airport buses 2009 Gillig advantage hybrid buses #2901-2909. Recently retired buses are 1997 Gillig phantom #s 701-720. Special Transportation Services paratransit fleet vehicles are numbered 160-310.
CATS bus service serves Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, with service in Charlotte, Davidson, Huntersville, Cornelius, Matthews, Pineville, and Mint Hill.
CATS operates local routes within the city of Charlotte, with the majority of those multiple-stop routes serving the Charlotte Transportation Center in Uptown. While crosstown service is scarce, other routes that do not serve Uptown mainly connect directly between LYNX rail stations and outlying neighborhoods. The transit system has since built three more transit centers to serve different parts of the city in the mid-2000s: the Eastland Community Transit Center in East Charlotte located near the now-closed Eastland Mall, the SouthPark Community Transit Center in South Charlotte located inside the parking garage of South Park Mall, and the Rosa Parks Community Transit Center in North Charlotte located near Johnson C. Smith University.[6]
Express buses in the CATS system serve Union County, Concord, Gastonia, and Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Within uptown Charlotte, there is a heritage trolley, the Charlotte Trolley. The 2-mile trolley route shares much of its right-of-way with the light-rail line (see below). The trolley service uses vintage replica trolleys and has a historic car, CAR 85 the only remaining original electric trolley car in operation in Charlotte, and is operated between the non-profit organization, Charlotte Trolley Inc., and the City of Charlotte. Trolley service was discontinued on June 28, 2010.
CATS also operates the Special Transportation Service (STS) which provides transportation to people with disabilities certified as eligible based on the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines. STS provides service during the same times and in the same locations as the fixed route bus service.
The CATS system transports over 80,000 weekday riders across all of its services. Ridership for Fiscal Year 2010 reached over 24 million riders, a yearly amount not experienced in Charlotte since the late 1940s.
CATS operates 501 buses, vans, rail cars and trolleys in its fleet. The transit system is the largest in operation between Atlanta, Georgia (MARTA) and Washington, D.C. (Metro).
CATS, in conjunction with NCDOT, operate an HOV lane on the expressway portion of Independence Boulevard. The HOV lane has been in operation since 1998.
On November 24, 2007, the first light rail line—a 9.6-mile (15.5-km) line known as the Lynx Blue Line— opened. It runs between Uptown Charlotte and stops short of Pineville, using a railroad right-of-way paralleling South Boulevard in its entirety. The line has 15 stations. It shares trackage with the Charlotte Trolley from the Atherton Mill station to the 7th Street station.
Subsequently expected to open is a light rail extension to the northeast. It will run from the current terminus at 7th street in Uptown to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The corridor will be 9 miles (14.4 km) long, with 11 stations.
On February 22, 2006, the Charlotte Area Transit System announced that its rapid rail lines will be called the "Lynx." (Lynx system map). The name fits in with the city’s cat theme (the NFL team is the Carolina Panthers and the NBA team is the Charlotte Bobcats); also, "Lynx" is a homophone of "links", and was mainly chosen because the light rail is about "connectivity."
The rapid rail cars will be black, silver and blue (the colors of the Carolina Panthers). Gold will appear around the "Lynx" logo to tie in the history of the Charlotte region being home to the first major U.S. Gold Rush.
The light rail system, developed by Michael Kozak of the state's Department of Transportation, will be the only commuter rail system in the two Carolinas.
A commuter rail line is also planned. It will go from Uptown to the northern suburbs of Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, and Mooresville.
A 10-mile modern Streetcar route is also planned, running from Rosa Parks Community Transit Center, through Uptown Charlotte, down Central Avenue and terminating at Eastland Community Transit Center. A Federal Urban Circulator Grant was awarded in July 2010, allowing construction of the first 1.5-mile segment between the Charlotte Transportation Center in Uptown and Presbyterian Hospital on Elizabeth Avenue.
Bus rapid transit is also being examined by CATS for corridors. It was originally slated to be on the Southeast Corridor to Matthews and the West Corridor to the Charlotte/Douglas International Airport; however, the SE Corridor may be a light rail line and the West Corridor to the airport could either be a BRT or streetcar line.
Source: CATS 2010 Annual Report, National Transit Database'
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