CATS reduced service begins Monday, causing frustrations for riders

CHARLOTTE — Some bus routes will see reduced service beginning on Monday after the Charlotte Area Transit System announced last month that driver shortages would mean cut backs.

The CATS website says “the modifications are in response to an industry wide labor shortage.”

Their schedule is now being modified and CATS is now spreading out some routes service times. CATS hopes this “increases” the reliability of services, according to the company.

However, riders in Monroe are disappointed with the changes.

Rider Eli Ieremia, says she is disappointed with the changes after being an hour and a half late to work Monday morning.

“I personally use the bus everyday to get to work hopefully if the city sees people are really hurting over this they will actually get something changed about it,” Ieremia said.

The new changes have made the wait at the bus stop longer for another Monroe rider.

Eric Ramseur takes the number 27 road bus that used to come every 15 minutes. With the new changes, it now only comes every 30 minutes.

“I don’t have to go to work and all that kind of stuff, I’m retired navy so I got plenty of time but I don’t want to spend it out in the hot sun for an hour,” Ramseur said.

Ramseur said he waited for over an hour for his bus Tuesday afternoon.

Jason Lawrence, the director of planning for CATS, says there are options for riders to get information on their rides.

“They can also call our customer services center at 336-ride to get information about the status of their trip and then as the operator situation improves we will be able to add service back in but it is something we will be monitoring each and every day,” Lawrence said.

Since the start of the pandemic, transit systems across the country have faced challenges with staffing shortages. But more recently, CATS has had dozens of bus drivers call out each day -- at times as many as a hundred a day -- leading to delays for commuters.

According to the American Public Transportation Association, 92% of public transit agencies said they are having difficulty hiring new employees, especially bus drivers.

As CATS works to hire more employees, they said the service reductions will “maximize the system’s reliability and minimize missed trips.” They said no routes will be cut; only the frequencies of routes will be altered.

“No service has been cut or removed as a part of this,” Lawrence said at a meeting last Wednesday night. “All this has done is modifying schedules to improve reliability.”

CATS says these changes are a temporary measure and will hopefully be altered back to the norm once more hires are made.

CATS is holding a job fair 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday this week at the Sugar Creek Transit System and is offering free rides to those that are interested in a job.

The following routes will be impacted by frequency reductions:

In addition, the following routes will see modifications to certain trips:

Route 1 – Mount Holly: Will eliminate the 11:41 p.m. and 12:41 a.m. inbound trips and 12:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. outbound trips.

Route 4 – Belmont: Will eliminate the first morning outbound trip at 5:29 a.m.

Route 11 – North Tryon: Will eliminate the 11:31 p.m. and 12:29 a.m. inbound trips and the 11:55 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. outbound trips.

Route 12 – South Boulevard: Will eliminate the 6:14 a.m. inbound trip and the late-night short-turn trips between the Scaleybark and Pressley Road area at 1:06 a.m. (outbound) and 2:03 a.m. (inbound).

Route 34 – Freedom Drive: Will eliminate the 11:31 p.m. inbound trip only.

Route 60 – Tyvola: Will convert midday trips serving Jackson Park to serve the V.A. Hospital.

Routes 48x – Northcross Express, 63x – Huntersville Express and 77x – North Mecklenburg Express: Will be reduced by three trips each day. Trip times will be shifted up to account for the adjustment.

CATS said people can refer to the individual route schedules for more information and download the CATS-Pass app for real-time bus and CityLYNX Gold Line information.

Jonathan Robinson waited in the heat last month at an east Charlotte bus stop.

“I got plenty of water with me,” he told Channel 9.

Meteorologists said the heat index for the area was above 100 degrees.

Robinson constantly checked his watch and phone as sweat dripped down his face.

“That’s why I come up here under this shade, make sure I don’t pass out,” Robinson said.

The scheduled arrival for the Route 17 bus on Central Avenue passed.

“I been out here about 30 minutes,” he said. “I got here about 3:15 p.m.”

Robinson said after work, it takes him a while to get back home, too.

“Sometimes I get off work at 10 o’clock at night,” he said. “It may not even come and I’ll just be out there waiting on it.”

He is also optimistic.

“(As) long as its consistent, I guess people can restructure their schedules to get around it.”

It’s not just buses that are experiencing schedule changes.

The Lynx Blue Line will shift from 15-minute intervals to 20 minutes between trains.

“I think if they have a staffing shortage, they should pay their staff more,” a rider told Channel 9.

Some light rail commuters said they are as frustrated as bus riders.

“It’s a disaster,” a commuter said. “It’s a disaster, Tuesday through Thursday.”

(WATCH BELOW: Memo: Outside team will review CATS and make recommendations to stabilize it)

Memo: Outside team will review CATS and make recommendations to stabilize it

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