Gov. Cooper talks Charlotte transit woes, says CATS is ‘struggling to find help’

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he believes the Charlotte Area Transit System will work with the state’s transportation department to ensure Charlotte’s light rail is safe to ride.

“No. 1, light rail is so important for making sure we get people to and from work in a fast, efficient and safe way,” Cooper told reporters during a Charlotte visit Tuesday. “We know that CATS and other public transportation systems are struggling to find enough help. The Department of Transportation let them know that they needed to make sure that more workers were involved because there was a safety issue.

“And it is my understanding CATS is going to work with the Department of Transportation to make sure that enough people are hired so that we can make sure that they are safe.”

Cooper’s visit comes one day after the Charlotte City Council was informed CATS must fully staff its light rail operations or suspend service, according to a letter from NCDOT.

An unannounced inspection by the state’s transportation department revealed the CATS’ Rail Operating Control Center, known internally as the ROCC, has sometimes operated with only one controller.

It’s standard for at least two controllers to work at the same time to run both Charlotte’s Gold Line and Blue Line trains efficiently, the NCDOT inspection found. It’s preferable for a rail controller chief to also be working with them, interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle said.

Cagle said he has implemented a mandatory overtime schedule to ensure two controllers can be on the clock at all times. Staffing is expected to get back to normal in three to six months, when Cagle said he expects to hire additional light rail controllers.

Cooper’s Tuesday visit to the Queen City included a speaking engagement at the 2023 North Carolina Reentry Conference and a tour of Lollipop Child Development Center, an early childhood school that would benefit from the $1.5 billion in state funds Cooper is hoping to include in the 2023-2025 fiscal year budget.

Firing in Blue Line derailment

The state’s “unannounced inspection” of CATS light rail operations was on March 31, three days after The Charlotte Observer reported former light rail controller Terry Creech was fired for the Blue Line derailment in May 2022.

Creech says he was the only person fired for the derailment that was unknown to the public for 10 months. He said he was the only controller on his shift at the time and he relieved another employee who finished a 14-hour shift.

“If the ROCC cannot be staffed with at least two (2) fully qualified ROCC employees, on any work shift, then CATS shall cease revenue service on the line affected by not having a dedicated ROCC employee assigned,” an April 1 letter from the NCDOT to Cagle says.

The letter says this is effective immediately.

How will this affect the city’s transit plan?

As CATS deals with previously undisclosed information from old management coming to light, City Manager Marcus Jones says the city is pushing forward with its transit plan.

Monday, the city’s transportation committee heard from staff who said they’re working to create a “Strategic Investment Area Workbook.” When completed, the workbook will include a long list of investments: big, small, short-term and long-term.

The question that remains is how to fund it. Jones and several council members have said a one-cent sales tax referendum to pay for transit expansion, including a pricy east-west light rail line, most likely will not make it onto Mecklenburg County ballots this November.

This story was originally published April 4, 2023 at 5:52 PM.

Genna Contino

The Charlotte Observer

Genna Contino previously covered local government for the Observer, where she wrote about Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. She attended the University of South Carolina and grew up in Rock Hill.