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CATS bus drivers set to vote on a new contract. What Charlotte riders should know.

A CATS bus passes the Charlotte Transportation Center on East Fourth Street in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, July 12, 2022. CATS bus drivers would get “significant pay raises” under a contract deal tentatively reached between their union and employer, a CATS spokesman said on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.
A CATS bus passes the Charlotte Transportation Center on East Fourth Street in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, July 12, 2022. CATS bus drivers would get “significant pay raises” under a contract deal tentatively reached between their union and employer, a CATS spokesman said on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. alslitz@charlotteobserver.com

Charlotte bus drivers would get “significant pay raises” under a contract deal tentatively reached between their union and employer, a CATS spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

Drivers also would see higher shift-differential pay, meaning the additional pay for working off-hours, including nights, Charlotte Area Transit System spokesman Brandon Hunter told The Charlotte Observer.

Drivers are scheduled to vote on the contract on Wednesday, he said.

Axios Charlotte first reported the tentative deal this week.

Hunter referred the Observer to SMART, the bus drivers union, and RATP Dev, the company that employs the drivers, for more details about the tentative deal. Union and company officials couldn’t be immediately reached by the Observer.

Driver shortages led CATS to trim the frequency of some bus routes this summer, the Observer previously reported.

Driver vacancies, absentees and scheduled vacations and days off all crimped transit system schedules, officials said.

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This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 12:13 PM.

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Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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