‘City-created problem.’ Former CATS CEO identifies reason for Charlotte transit troubles

Former Charlotte Area Transit System CEO John Lewis said factors other than his management contributed to the agency’s service and fleet issues during his last two years.

A switch in how CATS purchased parts and paid for repairs created a monthslong backlog and, eventually, played a role in his decision to resign as CEO in November, Lewis said.

His statement comes after the City Council learned last month about the derailment of a Blue Line train that happened in May 2022 as well as aged-out buses, delayed maintenance and expired bridge inspections from interim CEO Brent Cagle, who took over in December.

Lewis spoke with The Charlotte Observer in an hourlong interview Wednesday — his first time speaking with the media since his resignation — because he wanted to set the record straight about his tenure, he said.

“All of those questions about our ability to deliver service, a lot of it falls back to things I need. I need people and I need parts. And none of those were really under my authority,” Lewis said.

He said human resources, procurement, information technology and other, similar functions were consolidated in 2019 under the city’s authority, not CATS’.

Cagle and City Manager Marcus Jones said Lewis’ requests were discussed, but that those requests were different from the city’s official purchasing process. Cagle said Lewis didn’t present an urgent need for bridge inspections or a light rail overhaul as priorities while Lewis was CEO.

“When it came to my attention, it wasn’t really a procurement issue and it certainly wasn’t an issue that couldn’t be resolved very quickly,” Cagle said. “And the proof is in what we did. We haven’t done all the bridge inspections, but we’ve resolved the problem that apparently, according to staff, led us to not do bridge inspections.”

Last month, Cagle told the Charlotte City Council that CATS skipped bridge and parking garage inspections in 2021 despite a federal requirement to do so.

Long delays

An internal 2021 audit document provided by the city to the Observer shows CATS did not comply with city purchasing policies under Lewis’ tenure. Among its findings, the audit said CATS and the city’s General Services department needed to confirm that the latter had authority over major purchases..

But Lewis offered a different take.

“In both ‘20 and ‘21, my one challenge was procurement, my inability to bring enough parts to manage my system. I brought that up with the city manager in those reviews,” Lewis said. “In 2020, it wasn’t a dire need. By ‘21, what little hair I have was on fire.”

He provided a Nov. 14 city document that showed a 1,024-day delay for bus cleaning supplies and engine parts and 429-day delay for bus purchases.

The Blue Line derailment occurred because of a faulty axle bearing, Cagle told the City Council last month, 10 months after the incident. The repair costs will be $30 million to fix all Blue Line trains.

Lewis says he doesn’t think the CATS policy board, the Metropolitan Transit Commission, was fully aware of the asset management problem.

“This was a city-created problem,” Lewis said. “In hindsight, I probably should have blown the whistle. I should have raised that issue broader than just with the city manager.”

Jones said he was as supportive of Lewis as he was with all Charlotte department heads. Since Lewis’ departure, there have been “tremendous results over the last four months” around the same procurement policies with the same city manager staff, Jones said.

“So when issues come to my attention, you’ll find that I am open to finding solutions,” Jones said. “There are a series of reports and audits out there... We did try with the leadership team to help CATS find solutions to their issues, no different than any other department.”

Following the Observer’s publication of an interview transcript Wednesday with Lewis, Charlotte City Council member Tariq Bokhari posted an image of Pinocchio with a tweet calling Lewis a liar and criticizing the former CEO for not taking responsibility for “the dumpster fire he oversaw.”

“All city (departments) operate under the same procurement system, but his was the disaster,” Bokhari said.

Lewis says procurement delays threatened safety

Though Cagle says all CATS vehicles are safe, Lewis thinks passenger safety could’ve been threatened in the long term if the city didn’t address the problems he perceived with purchasing policies.

“Long term, it was an absolute problem and one of the reasons why I left,” Lewis said. “Again, I have all the responsibility, but very little authority.”

Cagle said maintaining CATS’ fleet becomes more difficult with older vehicles.

“But we do have very strict maintenance protocols,” Cagle said. “We need to do our part by improving the age of the fleet and replacing them, but I would say the fleet is safe.”

Derailment communication

A major point of contention since the derailment’s revelation is that CATS failed to notify city officials about the incident. Communications Director Jason Schneider said city staff haven’t found a single email from Lewis to Mayor Vi Lyles, County Commissioner Leigh Altman or any member of the MTC about the derailment. Jones says he received a text from Lewis about the derailment.

Lewis said he texted city manager Jones and told the MTC about the derailment but it didn’t seem to be a major concern.

“It’s a flat tire,” Lewis said. “If there was all of this angst about this big derailment, why were they quiet for six months? Why ratify our agency safety plan if you’re worried about the safety of our rail system?”

This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 6:29 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.