CATS Blue Line extends 7-day Sunday schedule during COVID-related staffing shortage
The CATS Blue Line will remain on a Sunday service schedule until further notice during a COVID-19-related staffing shortage, transit officials said Wednesday.
CATS switched to a 7-day Sunday schedule on Dec. 16 while 12 employees quarantined for COVID-19 after attending a private event, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
CATS originally intended to keep the light-rail line on the Sunday schedule until the end of December, once the employees finished quarantining.
In a statement Wednesday, CATS officials said they switched to the Sunday schedule “due to multiple employees testing positive for COVID-19.”
“CATS will continue to operate on this schedule to best manage staff levels during this period of increased health-safety challenges,” CATS officials said in the statement.
Bus routes will remain on their current modified schedule, officials said.
The employees who attended the private event don’t work directly with customers, but they are “critical to the safe operation of the rail system,” CATS spokeswoman Juliann Sheldon said in a news release when CATS switched to the Sunday schedule.
John Lewis, CEO of CATS, said at the time he was “incredibly disappointed in the judgment of these employees.”
“Their actions will temporarily impact the levels of service we can provide to our community,” Lewis said in a statement.
On Wednesday, CATS officials said staff will “continue using stringent cleaning protocols on all vehicles and at facilities.”
Protocols include using hospital-grade disinfectant on all hard surfaces, and during vehicle cleanings, according to Wednesday’s statement.