CHARLOTTE, N.C. — National Express Transit has taken over as the new management company for the city of Charlotte's transit buses.
The Charlotte Area Transit System previously contracted with RAPTDev to manage CATS drivers, buses, routes, and operations. That contract ended last month.
North Carolina law does not allow public municipalities to negotiate with unions. So cities must hire contractors, such as RAPTDev or National Express Transit, to manage and run operations.
RATP DEV ran Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus operations for the last several years but did not submit a bid to continue to run the system, which has been mired in several problems, including staffing shortages and concerns about driver safety.
During a recent meeting of the Metropolitan Transit Committee, Seyi Osiyemi, the National Express Transit general manager, said they have spent the past weeks doing ride-alongs, speaking with drivers and staff, and setting goals to improve the riding experience. Osiyemi said his priorities also include improving communication.
National Express Transit signed a three-year contract for about $1.5 million a year. The company will be in charge of managing the day-to-day operations of bus drivers.
Osiyemi shared several priorities during the meeting including ensuring all bus drivers – new hires and veterans - are on the same page with policies, procedures and training. Their goals in the coming months also includes improving safety conditions for bus drivers.
"There are a lot of passionate staff who are hardworking, love what they do, they love coming to work, a lot of them have been there 20 – 25 years," Osiyemi said. "So what we need to do as management is see how to channel that passion into helping develop the system."
In the past months, WCNC Charlotte has obtained numerous videos of safety and security issues on CATS buses.
In February 2022, Ethan Rivera, a CATS bus driver, was shot and killed while driving his bus in Uptown Charlotte.