Getting off the bus: CATS has plans to bring riders back after massive drop. Will it work?
Challenges facing Charlotte, North Carolina in efforts to boost ridership on its bus service reflect similar circumstances in other urban areas in the country. The city wants to see people riding buses more and driving automobiles less to help protect the environment by reducing carbon emissions. But Fulton Schools Research Professor Steven Polzin, a civil engineer who worked for the U.S. Department of Transportation, says adding more bus routes and more frequent service have not been shown to be sure-fire ways of increasing ridership. Still, the city hopes to fund a new light-rail line along with more bus service and build a bus fleet that would run on electric power rather than diesel fuel. See related story: Getting off the bus: How Charlotte Transit lost 75% of its passengers in less than a decade