Charlotte Area Transit System

Charlotte Area Transit System

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]

History

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]

Bus/trolley service

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-2000's: 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.

Route Designations

• 1-89 - local routes in various areas of the city
• 40X-89X - express routes (specifically designated with an X) from downtown to various park and ride lots
• 90-99 - Circulator routes in North Mecklenburg and Matthews/Mint Hill that will deviate for pick ups up to 3/4 of a mile from the route with advanced notice.
• 200-299 - community circulator routes
• 501 - LYNX Blue Line

Full Route List

• 1 Mt. Holly Rd.
• 2 Ashley Park
• 3 The Plaza
• 4 Country Club
• 5 Sprinter-Airport
• 6 Kings Dr.
• 7 Beatties Ford
• 8 Tuckaseegee Road
• 9 Central Ave.
• 10 West Blvd.
• 11 North Tryon
• 12 South Blvd.
• 13 Nevin Rd.
• 14 Providence Rd.
• 15 Randolph Rd.
• 16 South Tryon
• 17 Commonwealth Ave.
• 18 Selwyn Ave.
• 19 Park Rd.
• 20 Sharon Rd.
• 21 Double Oaks
• 22 Graham St.
• 23 Shamrock Dr.
• 24 Nations Ford
• 25 Clanton Rd./Midtown
• 26 Oaklawn Ave.
• 27 Monroe Rd.
• 29 UNCC/Southpark
• 30 Woodlawn Crosstown
• 34 Freedom Dr.
• 39 Eastway Dr.
• 40X Albemarle Rd. Express
• 41X Steele Creek Express
• 42 Carowinds
• 43 Ballantyne
• 44 Fort Mill
• 45X Carmel Rd. Express
• 48X Huntersville Express
• 51X Idlewild Rd. Express
• 53X Northlake Express
• 54X University Research Park Express
• 55 Westinghouse
• 56 Arrowood
• 57 Archdale/South Park
• 58 Pineville
• 60 Tyvola/South Park
• 61X Arboretum Express
• 62X Rea Rd. Express
• 64X Independence Blvd. Express
• 65X Matthews Express
• 74X Union County Express
• 77X North Mecklenberg Express
• 79x Concord Mills Express (Saturday Service)
• 80X Concord Express
• 82X Downtown Rock Hill Express
• 84 Gold Rush Orange Line
• 85X Gastonia Express
• 86 Gold Rush Red Line
• 88X Mountain Island Express
• 94 Mint Hill-Matthews Shuttle
• 97 Cornelius
• 98 McCoy Rd.
• 99 Huntersville
• 201 Garden City
• 204 LaSalle
• 211 Hidden Valley
• 221 East Harris/Idlewild Rd.
• 222 Pence Rd.
• 232 Grier Heights
• 235 Jackson Park
• 501 Light Rail - Lynx Blue Line

Fares (one way)

• One way, local -$1.75
• One way, express (within Mecklenburg county) -$2.40
• One way, express (neighboring counties) -$3.50
• One way, village rider -70¢
• Weekly pass - $17.50
• Local monthly pass -$70.00
• Express monthly pass- $93.00
• Express plus monthly pass - $140
• Senior/ADA local monthly pass -$35.00
• Senior/ADA eXpress monthly pass -$46.50
• Senior/ADA eXpress plus monthly pass-$70.00
• Youth/Student ID - 85¢

Rail transit - LYNX

Main article: LYNX Rapid Transit Services

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

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.

2002-2010 Financial and Ridership Data

• 2010

  Passenger trips: 24,355,191

• 2009

  Passenger trips: 26,034,078

• 2008

  Passenger trips: 23,199,350

• 2007

  Passenger trips: 19,757,737

• 2006

  Passenger trips: 19,156,590

• 2005

  Passenger trips: 17,773,753

• 2004

  Passenger trips: 20,875,635

• 2003

  Passenger trips: 18,888,550

• 2002

  Passenger trips: 16,587,199

• 1997-2005: Service Consumption Versus Costs: (costs adjusted for inflation at 3.5% per year)

  Ridership(unlinked trips): +52%

  Operational cost per passenger trip: +66%

  Operational cost per vehicle mile: +6%

  Operational cost per vehicle hour: +16%

Source: CATS 2010 Annual Report, National Transit Database'

Notes

1. ^ APTA. "1st Quarter 2011 Ridership Report". http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2011_q1_ridership_APTA.pdf. 
2. ^ The Source - Steve Hymon (2009-11-16). "Carolyn Flowers, Metro’s chief operating officer, resigns to take top transit job in Charlotte". http://thesource.metro.net/2009/11/16/carolyn-flowers-metros-chief-operating-officer-resigns-to-take-top-transit-job-in-charlotte/. 
3. ^ http://sbcglobalpwp.att.net/w/i/willvdv/aatncclt.html
4. ^ http://tpb.ga.gov/Documents/Atlanta%20Transit%20Planning%20Board%20Visit%20032708.pdf
5. ^ The Charlotte Observer - Steve Harrison (2007-08-19). "How Well is the Bus System Working?". http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1037662/how_well_is_the_bus_system_working/index.html. 
6. ^ http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/cats/Bus/Pages/transitcenters.aspx

External links

• CATS official site
• Charlotte Trolley
• LYNX route map
• 2003 Consolidated Income and Expenses
• 2004 Consolidated Income and Expenses