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December 20, 2010

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2010: THE YEAR IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Customers The Main Focus of CATS’ Commitment
BY CAROLYN FLOWERS, CEO, Charlotte Area Transit System, Charlotte, NC

Flowers is a member of the Passenger Transport Advisory Board.

Fiscal Year 2010 was an insightful and challenging year, as the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) continued to deal with the national recession, record high unemployment in the region, and sales tax receipts dipping to the 2005 level. We had to manage this flat sales tax revenue and be selective in investments that would best serve the community. Through these challenges, CATS focused on delivering the best core services possible to the community, sustaining jobs, and maintaining the high quality of our service.

CATS enacted a scheduled 16.7 percent fare increase across all services in July 2010, part of its normal policy to adjust fares every two years to keep pace with the cost of providing transit service. Without a fare increase we would not have been able to keep our current level of service for our customers.

Charlotte, which is the second largest financial center in the country and the largest employment generator in the state, saw significant changes in staffing levels over the past two years. The combination of low gas prices and high unemployment due to the economic downturn played a role in our first ridership decline in more than a decade.
CATS carried more than 24 million customers during FY 2010 and weekday ridership averaged just over 79,000 riders. This represented a 6 percent decline in ridership over FY 2009. Since CATS’ FY 2011 began July 1, 2010, we have seen ridership levels on the rise once again.

To advance the system, CATS leveraged investments with grants. CATS benefited by receiving two federal grants aimed at replacing the fleet while improving the environment and retrofitting an existing bus garage delaying the need for a third bus garage in the future. Six new hybrid buses are on order with the assistance of a $3 million Transit Investment for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Grant. It is estimated the six additional hybrid buses could remove 2,600 tons of carbon dioxide in the air over the 12-year operating life cycle of the buses. In our daily operations, it is important to minimize CATS carbon footprint as we work hard to enhance the quality of life for our citizens. CATS will have a total of 13 hybrid vehicles in its fleet when these buses arrive in 2011.

Construction work began on the North Davidson Bus Facility Renovation and Expansion Project being funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Enhancements to the 28-year-old facility will improve operations by updating conditions and providing sufficient space and support for up to 200 transit buses. The changes will also allow CATS Special Transportation Services (STS) to relocate there. Construction on the project is expected to be completed by June 2011.

CATS’ focus on safety and reliability continues to reap dividends. Our preventable accident rate and on-time performance exceed industry standards; bus on-time performance finished at over 88 percent for the year, and rail service was on time more than 99 percent. The LYNX Blue Line finished the year with only 0.12 preventable accidents and bus service had only 0.40 accidents per 100,000 miles.

The LYNX Blue Line also continues to exceed ridership projections and serves as a model for transit systems across the country. This line served as a workhorse assisting with such national conventions as the National Rifle Association’s, which attracted over 70,000 visitors; numerous NCAA conference sporting events; and the opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame that averaged over 90,000 riders in two days.

CATS remains committed to the vision of the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan, and this year we have continued to work together to advance the goals of the system plan.

The FY 2011-2015 Capital Investment Plan will assist us in continuing to advance the LYNX Blue Line Extension (BLE) and the North Corridor Red Line as well as funding bus and vanpool purchases. The BLE completed its 30 percent design and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was submitted to the Federal Transit Administration.

CATS’ funding partners, however, struggle with the same budgetary issues. The Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC), governing board of CATS, recently reviewed the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan, and we will keep moving forward with providing a cost-effective LYNX BLE project and pursue private-public partnerships to build the Red Line.

No matter the successes or the challenges of the year, CATS is committed to delivering a safe, clean, and reliable transit system that attracts customers and provides transportation choices for the region. The focus of what we do every day as a transit team is our customer, the reason we are in this business, and the reason we continue to thrive.

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