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Transportation committee: FTA review finds CATS stabilized; council members urge continued oversight and safety improvements
Summary
The transportation committee reviewed an FTA assessment of CATS and concluded the system is stabilized but in need of continued oversight, improved scheduling connections and stronger station safety measures.
Committee members on the transportation committee reviewed a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) review of the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) and heard status updates on operations, management and oversight.
A committee chair summarized the FTA review as identifying eight areas for attention and said the agency offered favorable comments about management and operations. “We feel comfortable that we are on track to deal with things that the FTA brought to our attention,” the chair said.
Committee members described progress toward normalization of operations and noted ongoing work to update the 2030 transit plan and align it with potential revenue proposals. At the same time several members urged caution: Councilmember LaWanna Mayfield stressed better management of cumulative impacts from growth, improved connections between buses in scheduling and more creative use of technology and the CATS app to reduce extremely long waits for riders.
Safety at stations and along rail lines was a recurring council concern. Mayfield and others urged more active monitoring of station cameras and better use of existing speaker systems to notify riders and create a perception and reality of greater safety. “We could be utilizing that more… to let it be known that this station is monitored,” Mayfield said.
The committee discussed the ad hoc working group (or SWAT team) formed during CATS’ earlier problems; while a chair suggested the special arrangements are no longer needed, members including Johnson and Mayfield pushed to keep focused oversight on safety and performance. No formal committee vote to disband the working group was recorded.
What’s next: Committee chairs and staff will continue oversight through the MTC (Metropolitan Transit Commission) and the upcoming 2030 plan update; staff was asked to provide additional information about technology use, station safety measures and timelines for a permanent executive director search.
