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Articles about Transportation

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Excessive sick leave blamed for shoddy bus service
   June 23, 2022

Tony Mecia

CATS chief John Lewis on Wednesday shed new light on the reasons that his transit agency’s buses increasingly are late or don’t show up, saying that drivers using their allotted paid sick days are leaving the agency without enough workers to operate routes and contributing to unreliable service.

At a meeting of elected officials from around the Charlotte region, Lewis said CATS’...

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Charlotte’s new mobility plan: ambitious goals, tons of data
   June 22, 2022
Ely Portillo

A far-reaching new plan could shape Charlotte’s transportation infrastructure for decades to come, reorienting a car-dependent, sprawling Southern city towards a denser, transit-oriented, bike- and pedestrian-friendly future. 

Charlotte City Council approved the Strategic Mobility Plan on Monday in a 9-2 vote, with council members Tariq Bokhari and Ed Driggs voting no. The plan was...

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New Silver Line plan: Ridership favored over development
   June 16, 2022

Steve Harrison, WFAE

For three years, transit advocates have lobbied for the proposed Silver Line to bring passengers closer to uptown — instead of the planned route that would follow Interstate 277.

The Charlotte Area Transit System refused, saying the I-277 route north of uptown would...

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Biking in Charlotte shouldn't be scary. Here's how I do it.
   June 13, 2022

Pam Murray

This might surprise some people who think bicycling in Charlotte is serious, or scary: Riding is fun! If you come and ride your bicycle with me, you'll most likely have a good experience. I've been leading bike rides since 2013, sometimes three per week. I also teach CyclingSavvy, a skills course that equips riders to move around our city safely and confidently. 

Don't believe me? Take...

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A more equitable approach to neighborhood traffic safety in Charlotte
   June 7, 2022
Ely Portillo

Update: On June 13, Charlotte City Council approved changes to eliminate the petition process for traffic-calming requests)

Where you live in Charlotte has a big effect on whether neighborhood safety measures like speed humps, stop signs and lower speed limits are installed nearby.

Charlotte’s traffic-calming policy has been in place since 1997, and remains “very...

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Charlotte considers replacing some low-ridership buses with on-demand service
   June 1, 2022
Ely Portillo

As Charlotte’s transit system struggles to attract bus riders back post-COVID, officials are considering adding more on-demand options and replacing some low-ridership, fixed-schedule routes with services people could summon when needed.

The idea is still in its early stages, but it could eventually lead to replacing some full-sized buses with smaller, nimbler vehicles. It’s part of...

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Car-free Life for a Family of Four in Delft, Netherlands
   May 18, 2022
Martin Zimmerman

Charlotte-based architect and urban planner Martin Zimmerman talks with Melissa and Chris Bruntlett about their latest book and their family’s first few years living and navigating Delft, a 1,200 year-old city in the Netherlands, mostly by bike, at speeds rarely exceeding ten miles per hour. 

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Listen: What's next for Charlotte transit?
   May 18, 2022
Ely Portillo

When WFAE, The Charlotte Ledger and the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute launched a joint newsletter last year to cover transit and transportation, we assumed that the main focus would be the 1-cent transit sales tax vote.

Well, that vote didn't happen and the transit plan is in a bit of limbo, but we've still found plenty to write about, from...

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Charlotte's big goal: Take half of all trips in something besides a car
   May 10, 2022
Ely Portillo

Charlotte transportation leaders laid out an ambitious goal this week: By 2040, half of all trips in the city should be taken in something besides a car.

That would be a major shift. Right now, somewhere around three-quarters of trips within the city are currently made using single-occupant vehicles, transportation staff said at the City Council transportation committee meeting.

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Charlotte's transit riders are returning — slowly
   May 5, 2022

Steve Harrison, WFAE

March 2022 is arguably when Charlotte and the country turned the corner on the pandemic.

With Omicron waning, Charlotte’s major banks brought back their employees, at least on a hybrid schedule. Bank of America returned vaccinated workers on March 1. Wells Fargo came back two weeks later.

March is a good baseline for what a post-pandemic transit system may look like, in a time...

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