Trump admin cites Charlotte for safety issues in audit sparked by train stabbing
Federal transit authorities called out Charlotte’s transit system for failing to meet multiple mandated safety requirements in a new report triggered by a high-profile killing on the city’s light rail.
The Federal Transit Administration released its audit of the Charlotte Area Transit System on Monday, months after Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was fatally stabbed on the Blue Line.
The FTA said it found CATS’ “rate of crimes against passengers” is three times higher than the national average. The agency also said the rate of assault on CATS transit workers jumped to five times the national average in 2025 despite being below the national average the previous two years. The audit cited the agency’s National Transit Database as its source for the claim.
The audit “found several performance issues” including how the CATS assesses risk, tracks system fixes and conducts de-escalation training for staff, the FTA said in a statement on the report. In total, CATS was cited for 18 “findings of non-compliance,” including:
- Not implementing required risk assessment processes when assessing the risk of transit worker assaults
- Not establishing a process to annually assess safety performance
- Not establishing a required safety risk reduction program for bus services
- Not meeting requirements for de-escalation training
The FTA’s audit also makes six recommendations to CATS, including evaluating the authority’s safety reporting program for transit workers and increasing awareness for employees of how to report concerns, including assaults on transit workers.
CATS must submit corrective action plans to address 18 findings in the audit to the FTA within 30 days. The federal agency will review CATS’s plans and monitor progress, including conducting regular meetings with CATS. The FTA could take additional action against CATS, including withholding federal transit money, if the issues cited in the audit aren’t resolved, the report says.
“FTA is determined to do its part to address the systemic failures within Charlotte’s transit system that led to Iryna Zarutska’s tragic death,” FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing these 18 points fixed immediately to bolster safety for both transit workers and passengers.”
Molinaro and his team visited Charlotte in January to meet with local transit leaders and ride the light rail. That visit wasn’t open to the public or the media.
CATS said in a statement on the audit its “committed to advancing” its security and safety plans.
“We have already implemented key measures and will continue to take proactive steps to ensure the safety of our operators and passengers while reinforcing fare enforcement,” the statement said.
The FTA report is one of multiple investigations launched after Zarutska’s death put a national spotlight on public safety in Charlotte.
A separate report released by the State Auditor’s Office in September said CATS armed security staff shrank in recent years despite increased spending on security and questioned the transit authority’s use of diversity rules in its hiring of private security firm.
The North Carolina House Select Committee on Oversight and Reform is scheduled to hold a hearing Feb. 9 in Raleigh on safety in Charlotte, including on public transit. Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles, Mecklenburg County Manager Mike Bryant, CATS interim CEO Brent Cagle, City Manager Marcus Jones, Sheriff Garry McFadden, District Attorney Spencer Merriweather and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Estella Patterson were all invited to appear before the committee.
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 1:37 PM.
