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TSAC approves approach to cut down on CATS bus trips

With continuing employment issues causing delays, CATS will be reducing the number of trips some buses will take.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Transit Services Advisory Committee (TSAC) passed the Strategic Ridership Analysis Approach Thursday. The plan will change Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus routes to make up for the lack of staffing. 

Changes to bus routes plan will scale back how many trips buses will take during low service times, taking the wait time up to 30 minutes instead of the usual 20 minutes for a bus.

The plan will not change 80% of routes, but there will be adjustments on 14 local and express routes as well as minor adjustments to late and early trips on another four. 

Additionally, routes that have a high number of trips will have two to three trips removed.

The impacted bus routes will be released on July 27, with a mid-August rollout. TSAC hopes the route cuts will only last to the end of the year, but only time will tell.

CATS has been facing employment issues for some time now, with unexcused absences and vacant positions causing major delays.

"We are facing a labor-related problem," John Lewis, the CATS CEO, said. "It's two-faceted problem. Tight labor market and difficulty in recruiting -- 74 open positions. We've never had that many."

The City of Charlotte invested in CATS for the upcoming fiscal year, Lewis wants to make sure that money gets put to increasing operators and pay, with additional hiring and retention efforts.

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