Five years, thousands of citations: What the numbers say about Charlotte Area Transit System

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — What started as a question from a viewer like you helped us to get some more information from CATS on citations and ridership, specifically in the last five years. CATS said in fiscal year 2024, there were 14,759,377 passenger trips.

Eight days before Iryna Zarutska was stabbed on the light rail – we were already asking questions about CATS fares and enforcement. Now, we have the numbers.

Citations according to CATS:

• 2020: 83 citations
• 2021: 93 citations
• 2022: 87 citations
• 2023: 4,757 citations
• 2024: 2,038 citations
• 2025: (Through Sept. 11) 1,500 citations

Officials noted that CATS was fare-free from March 25, 2020, until June 8, 2020, systemwide. Ridership across the system began to increase closer to normal levels in 2023 when workers returned to their offices in Uptown.

Calvin So is a regular passenger.

“I think definitely a lot more people have gone on edge,” So said.

So said riders are more situationally aware now compared to before.

Erika Polyi runs the Astoria stand at the stop where the stabbing happened. Even when we spoke with her, officers biked by.

“I’ve definitely noticed a big increase,” Polyi said.

Polyi said the station announcement message at the station has changed, but not necessarily the behavior.

“I see people getting on the train all the time,” Polyi said. “They definitely don’t buy tickets.”

CATS’ website says citations are $50, and if you fail to pay for 30 days or appear in court, you could be liable for an additional $50.

Vela founder Elizabeth Lasswell said she’s seen the CMPD beat officer frequently visiting businesses and an uptick in security around South End.

“It really feels like they’re stepping things up and kind of taking that ownership of what they said that they were going to do,” Lasswell said. “Don’t be scared to come to South End. All the business owners here are doing their part as well to stay vigilant and make sure that everyone not only feels safe but is safe.”

So said it can always be more.

“I think a lot more law enforcement patrolling enforcement,” So said. “It seems like despite a lot of incidents that’s happening here, as you can see, there’s no cop car. There’s no one really looking at what’s going on.”

We’re told the light rail is patrolled daily, and light rail vehicles are checked randomly.

No one from CATS was available to interview at the time of publication.