The Charlotte Area Transit System, commonly referred to as CATS, is the public transit system in Charlotte, North Carolina. It operates bus service around the Metrolina area and a historical trolley in Uptown Charlotte, and will open its first light rail line in 2007.

Bus/trolley service

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CATS bus service serves Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, with service in Charlotte, Davidson, Huntersville, Cornelius, Matthews, Pineville, and Mint Hill.

Express buses in the CATS system serve Union County, Lincoln County, Concord, Gastonia, and Mooresville, North Carolina, and Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Within uptown Charlotte, there is a heritage trolley, the Charlotte Trolley. The 2-mile trolley route runs on a railroad right-of-way, which will later be used by the new light rail line. The trolley uses a vintage car, 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.

Rail transit

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In fall 2007, the first light rail line—a 9.6-mile (15.5-km) line known as the South Corridor—will open. It will run between Uptown Charlotte and Pineville, using a railroad right-of-way paralleling South Boulevard in its entirety. The line will have 15 stations. It will share track with the Charlotte Trolley.

Subsequently expected to open is a light rail line to the northeast. It will open in phases, with the first phase to reach 36th Street in 2013 and the second phase to reach I-485, at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in 2018. The corridor will be 14 miles (22.4 km) long, with 14 stations.

On February 24, 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 (NFL team is Carolina Panthers; NBA team is Charlotte Bobcats, as well "Lynx" was mainly chosen because the light rail is about 'connectivity.'

The rapid rail cars will be black, silver and blue. Gold will appear around the "Lynx" logo to tie in the history of the Charlotte region being home to the first major US Gold Rush.

A commuter rail line is also planned. It will go from Uptown to the northern suburbs of Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, and Mooresville.

Modern streetcars are also planned, with a circulator route around uptown, as well as routes radiating out of downtown.

Bus rapid transit

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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 is expected to be a light rail line and the West Corridor to the airport could either be a BRT or streetcar line.

Taxpayer Subsidies

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According to 2003 CATS data, 86% of operating costs for CATS mass transit is currently taxpayer-subsidized ($8.986M in fare revenue, $63.199M in operating expenses) and subsidized 91% when CATS capital expenditures are included (an additional $37.882M in capital expenditures). When completed, a round trip on the South Corridor light rail line would cost $13.40 to cover the projected costs (11,000 one-way riders per day per CATS estimate, $425M/30yrs in startup costs, $12.8M in annual operating costs).

2002-2004 Financial and Ridership Data

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2002 Passenger trips: 16,587,199 Fare revenues: $8,972,871 Total expenses: $80,999,387

2003 Passenger trips: 18,888,550 Fare revenues: $8,986,622 Total expenses: $101,082,238

2004 Passenger trips: 18,875,635 Fare revenues: $9,952,655 Total expenses: $186,718,249

notes-from 2002-2004: Ridership increased 13.8% Fare revenue increased 10.92% Total expenses increased 130.52%

In 2002, fare revenue recovered approximately 11 cents per dollar spent.

In 2003, fare revenue recovered approximately 8.9 cents per dollar spent.

In 2004, fare revenue recovered approximately 5.3 cents per dollar spent.

source: National Transit Database

External links

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• CATS official site
• Charlotte Trolley
• 2003 Consolidated Income and Expenses
• 2004 Consolidated Income and Expenses
• 'Breach of Faith: Light Rail and Smart Growth' highlighting alleged wastefulness and ineffectiveness of light rail projects An argument against utilization of a light rail system in Charlotte, NC

Transportation in North Carolina | Intermodal transportation authorities | Charlotte, North Carolina