Transit Time: Reader mailbag 📫
Feedback from our readers on recent articles
You’re reading Transit Time, a weekly newsletter for Charlotte people who leave the house. Cars, buses, light rail, bikes, scooters … if you use it to get around the city, we write about it. Transit Time is produced in partnership between The Charlotte Ledger and WFAE.
Your turn: Readers weigh in on CATS, the city manager’s leadership and regionalism
It’s time to open the Transit Time virtual mailbag, with emails on articles from the past couple months. To share your thoughts, you can always reply to this newsletter, and we could feature your comments in the future.
In response to “Four questions CATS must answer to get back on track” (April 20):
“I think a big component missing in your article is Marcus Jones’ responsibility in his oversight of CATS. It appears he has paid little or no attention to what’s going on. I think Ron Tober hit the nail on the head: The problem is with management, and that starts at the top. Why is no one calling him on the carpet?”
“Transportation is all modes of transport, and all that allows transport to happen safely. It is also (much) more than Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Look north, east, south and especially west. I feel like Gaston County is seriously overlooked, and much of transportation infrastructure issues are growing in our area. Look at the state of our bridges that are being used every day. Are they safe? Well-maintained? Look at the state of our freight railway system, which runs through heavily populated areas. Could a derailment here, in semi-heavy urbanization, happen, and would it be a disaster of unimaginable proportions? Are we ready to deal with such a disaster?”
“As usual, a great recap. Who let the bridges and rail cars go uninspected? They should be indicted.”
“A city manager that doesn't remember a text about a train derailing either lacks integrity or judgment. Either way, he’s unfit to lead. An organization that ignores safety concerns, especially when they have the budget to address them, sounds like criminal negligence to me. City Counsel and CATS leadership should be held accountable, and replacing leaders isn’t enough. Keep the heat on them. This is a national embarrassment.”
“Every medium-sized city that successfully built and maintains adequate public transit (think Denver, Portland, Seattle, Phoenix, etc.) relies on regional transit authorities instead of city-run transit. Start there. Second, they all had residents that were less selfish and could think about the greater good and keeping cars off the road, even if you have zero intention of using the trains. Charlotte is the most selfish city I’ve ever lived in. More NIMBY people here than I’ve ever seen.”
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In response to “The city manager in the hot seat” (April 27):
“Good work, y’all. Thanks, seriously. ’Bout time he actually came out of the cave.”
“Fluff piece.”
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In response to “15 ways last week’s transit commission meeting was like Festivus” (May 4)
“This was awesome. Great memes. Great quotes. It read like an old Bill Simmons ‘Sports Guy’ article.”
“You win it! This Festivus write-up is THE BEST!”
“This might be your best headline ever.”
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In response to “Is regionalism heading in reverse?” (May 11)
“As a former 74X rider its a shame to lose the service. But the timing of the bus was not convenient for a lot of commuters. Two of the return buses departed uptown before 5 p.m. A lot of people who returned to the office after Covid switched to the 64X in Matthews, which runs more frequently. Additionally, the Indian Trail Park and Ride was off of 74 behind a Food Lion, versus closer to the doorstep of many of the communities in IT. A bus that picked up in Sun Valley Commons, Downtown Indian Trail, Lake Park or along Seacrest Shortcut would be more successful, in my opinion.”
“As a former public transit commuter in Boston, other than well-appointed express buses, most commuters prefer rail transit over buses. As a growing metropolitan area, with congested roads, the Charlotte region really needs rail transit, which is expensive to build, but the longer it is delayed, the more exponentially expensive it becomes.”
In brief…
Bus driver fired after shoot-out: The bus driver who exchanged gunfire with a passenger last week has been fired, interim Charlotte Area Transit System CEO Brent Cagle said Wednesday. Bus drivers are not supposed to carry firearms. The dispute started near the Charlotte Premium outlets in the Steele Creek area when the passenger wanted the driver to stop at a McDonald’s that did not have a bus stop, WSOC reported. The man accused of shooting the driver is in jail on a $250,000 bond, WBTV reported.
On leave: The head of the Charlotte Area Transit System’s rail department has been placed on administrative leave, the latest in a series of management shake-ups at the transit agency. (WBTV)
Uptown bus station meeting: The Charlotte Area Transit System is holding a virtual meeting today at 6 p.m. to gather feedback on the Charlotte Transportation Center redevelopment project. Details here.
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