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Charlottesville invests in transit staffing and service frequency; officials say 80–101 drivers needed for robust regional service
Summary
City staff described recent investments to stabilize Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT), explained choices behind service frequency and reported that achieving a robust regional service model would require roughly 82 to 101 drivers depending on the scenario; staff requested additional deep‑dive planning with the county and regional partners.
Charlottesville transit officials updated council on CAT operations, recent investments and the workforce needed to restore and expand service levels. Staff said the FY26 proposed budget adds just over $600,000 to transit operations to replace expiring state funds that had supported fare‑free service, fund collective bargaining increases and add a maintenance position; the city previously increased support by roughly $1.8 million in an earlier budget to add eight driver positions.
Garland Williams, director of transit, summarized changes since the pandemic. Ridership fell in 2020 and slowly recovered; staff emphasized they have shifted from relying heavily on temporary relief drivers toward creating more full‑time, benefited driver positions to improve reliability. Williams said the “optimization” plan previously prepared for CAT identified an 82‑operator staffing need to restore a steady 30‑minute headway network and a 101‑operator scenario to expand 30‑minute service more broadly, including more robust weekend service.
Staff noted current driver counts of about 66 authorized positions with roughly 62 filled at the time of the meeting and ongoing hiring activity. Councilors and staff discussed the tradeoffs between frequency, coverage and Title VI equity obligations (ensuring changes do not disproportionally reduce service for protected populations). Councilors asked for per‑route ridership data tied to the headway/frequency maps; staff said route‑level ridership is available on the transit data portal and committed to providing route‑by‑route totals and a plan to discuss a multi‑month deep dive with county partners and the newly formed CARTA regional body.
Councilors agreed on the need for a short‑term push toward a 30‑minute base model before considering high‑frequency corridors; they also asked staff to present the operational and facility costs (including fleets and maintenance staffing) needed to reach longer‑term zero‑emission and regional service goals in follow‑up briefings.
