News
CATS audit finds millions in lost fares, security concerns
State auditors say CATS loses up to $6.5 million annually to fare evasion while raising concerns about security, policing and safety spending.
News
Federal audit flags safety risks on Charlotte public transit
Federal audit finds safety failures at Charlotte Area Transit System, citing poor risk management, worker safety, rising violence, and 18 violations.
News
US House Judiciary Committee to hold hearing in Charlotte after light rail murder
The US House Judiciary Committee will be holding a field hearing in Charlotte on Sept. 29, following the murder of Iryna Zarutska, 23, on Charlotte’s light rail shortly before 10 pm on Aug. 22.
News
Boliek investigating Charlotte transit system after light rail murder
NC State Auditor Dave Boliek said his office will now be investigating the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) after the horrifying murder of Iryna Zarutska, 23, on Charlotte’s light rail shortly before 10 pm on Aug. 22 by 34-year-old Decarlos Brown Jr.
News
CATS gold line streetcar beset with financial woes, federal data reveals
A federal report finds that the cost incurred to move a single passenger one mile is $18.71 on the Charlotte’s Gold Line streetcar. This comes in addition to logistical problems faced by CATS Gold Line rail over the past three years.
Opinion
Raleigh’s iconic NC Theatre pushed to bankruptcy by COVID, competition
In December 2023, my family attended the North Carolina Theatre’s production of Elf. It was another thrilling night back with old friends in my nearly 40-year association with North Carolina’s largest professional theatre company — one of the few in America primarily dedicated to producing Broadway-caliber musicals with a world class youth-training organization. The vision...
News
Charlotte retail malls grapple with frequent crime incidents, closed stores
Over recent months, shopping malls in the Charlotte area have seen several incidents of criminal activity, which is part of a larger wave of offenses committed at other malls in large urban areas throughout the U.S. Crime is not a new phenomenon at Charlotte’s Northlake Mall, as the mall has been host to shootings and...
News
CATS leadership accused of misrepresenting transit analysis
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) was recently saddled with allegations of misrepresentation and error over a newly proposed silver line transit route. As reported earlier this month by the Charlotte Ledger, review of internal CATS documents contained both errors and misrepresentations in new route proposals and ridership analysis for the mass transit system in...
Opinion
Civilizing forces needed in fight against partisan hatred
I’m only half joking when I argue that a true sports fan loathes his archrival more than he loves his own team. Sure, it’s an exaggeration. But one suspects that at least some Boston Red Sox supporters enjoy feasting on New York Yankee futility more than they celebrate their own team’s fourth World Series title...
News
Fat CATS
CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Area Transit system will scale back some routes in an attempt to counter three major decreases in funding, department officials said in January. Though buses will take the brunt of the reduction, the new light-rail train system also will be cut during peak hours. All told, CATS hopes to reduce its operating costs by $8 million in the next two fiscal years.
News
UNCC Resources Push Charlotte Transit
CHARLOTTE — State employees and resources were used to prepare a report written to the specifications of opponents of the repeal of the half-cent transit tax levied in Mecklenburg County, emails to and from UNCC Chancellor Phil Dubois show.
News
CATS Plans Too Ambitious?
CHARLOTTE — Charlotte Area Transit System officials expect the next few years to be busy at the transit agency. In addition to a light-rail line under construction, CATS officials hope to begin work on four more lines by about 2010, the CATS Web site says.
