CHARLOTTE — A newly released federal probe stated that the Charlotte Area Transit System dropped the ball regarding maintaining its Blue Line and bus fleet but CATS officials stress changes have been made.
The Federal Transit Administration released its audit into CATS following this derailment and several others in 2022. The audit was presented to the Charlotte City Council’s transportation committee Monday morning.
The audit confirmed the deferred $600,000 overhaul of the CATS light rail vehicles resulted in the highly publicized 2022 derailment. CATS is currently undergoing a nearly $60 million overhaul project to upgrade its light rail fleet.
The audit also found CATS has not met its miles between road call’s goal of more than 15,000 miles for the last three years. This metric deals with buses needing to be towed after breaking down. CATS says fleet age has significantly impacted its ability to meet the goal. CATS recently purchased 70 new buses. Thirty-five are set to be delivered next year.
The city of Charlotte says its job of making the system reliable and rebuilding trust continues.
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