NC: Is Charlotte’s transit system finally finding its stability without a permanent CEO?

Brent Cagle took on the role of interim Charlotte Area Transit System CEO in November 2022 at a time of chaos.

Rates of canceled or delayed trips were on the rise amid vacant positions and employee absences. The fatal shooting of a bus driver raised questions about safety. And a light rail derailment soon came to light, triggering a federal audit and costly repairs to Charlotte’s entire light rail fleet.

Just over two years later, Cagle is proud of the progress made in his tenure and looking to accomplish more in 2025.

“We’re not perfect, but we’re making improvements,” he told The Charlotte Observer. “(2024) was different in that it’s not just firefighting.”

Cagle, still officially the “interim” CEO of CATS, ended 2024 with praise from city leaders for his handling of the transit system’s issues.

In the new year, he’ll continue to oversee the next stages of Charlotte’s multi-billion dollar transit plan and try to chart a new course for the Charlotte Transportation Center. Local leaders say they’re eager to see him stay in his post for a critical year for CATS.

“I intend to stay for, I guess, as long as the ( Metropolitan Transit Commission) will have me,” Cagle said.

Will Cagle become permanent CATS CEO?

Cagle said he’s most concerned with navigating the major projects on CATS’ horizon than determining his own next step.

“I’m really enjoying what I’m doing and have no plans to make a change, but I really haven’t been thinking about the interim title and whether it should be removed or shouldn’t be removed,” he said.

Asked if he’s interested in the permanent position, he said he’ll “never say never on what my future is.”

Charlotte City Manager Marcus Jones told council members at a December meeting he doesn’t want to pursue a change at the top of CATS until at least the end of 2025 given the ongoing work on transit planning and funding.

“Stability is extremely important, especially considering what we’re trying to get done,” Jones said.

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Leigh Altman, who chairs the MTC, told the Observer she has “a high level of confidence” in Cagle. Under a revised interlocal agreement approved in 2024, the MTC has more say in selecting CATS’ CEO.

“I hope (Cagle) will continue to see us through next steps, including transit/sales tax legislation, major community engagement to gauge the public’s transit priorities, a vote at the MTC on a final draft of a new Transit Plan, and ultimately a new transit authority,” Altman said.

Cagle, who previously served as an assistant city manager and worked in aviation, described his time with CATS as an unexpected, rewarding career change.

“I do take to heart really what CATS does, and the importance to the community of transit … We provide that, you know, and we’re proud of that. I’m proud of that,” he said.

Cagle also spoke with the Observer recent and future challenges facing CATS and his goals for the agency in 2025:

Red Line, Silver Line and revamped transit plan

Cagle described Charlotte’s purchase of the O-line tracks from Norfolk Southern for the Red Line commuter rail to north Mecklenburg as a “challenging project 20 years in the making.”

“It was a challenge, but I think it was also one of our largest accomplishments,” he said.

More substantive progress relies largely on whether the North Carolina General Assembly signs off on a ballot referendum to increase Mecklenburg County’s sales tax to pay for transit. Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham said in December the legislature needs to pass a bill in the first quarter of 2025 for the issue to make the November ballot.

While “there’s always uncertainty” about funding, Cagle added, CATS continues to revamp its decades-old transit plan to reflect the spending breakdown laid out in the bill. The draft legislation caps spending on light rail, commuter rail and streetcar projects at 40% of new sales tax revenue. Spending on buses — including bus rapid transit, micro-transit and mobility hubs — would be capped at 20% of revenue, leaving 40% of the new money for roads in an effort to appease Republican state legislators.

CATS plans to present an update to the MTC, the agency’s regional governing body, in January, Cagle said.

“That’s really the start of the conversation,” he said.

One major question: Whether funding constraints will kill all or some of the Silver Line light rail project slated to run from the airport to east Mecklenburg. Matthews and east Charlotte communities have pushed back on that possibility, including the idea of bus rapid transit as a cheaper alternative.

Cagle said bus rapid transit— dedicated bus lanes that often have traffic signal priority, elevated platforms and enhanced stations — is an increasingly popular option in the U.S.

“Can it work? Absolutely. Is it supported? I don’t know. That’s what we’re working to find out,” he said.

Regardless of the final plan, Cagle said it’s important for CATS to honor longstanding promises to the community.

“When we say we’re going to do something, we need to do it,” he said.

Charlotte Transportation Center

The future of the Charlotte Transportation Center is also high on CATS’ 2025 priority list, Cagle said.

The Charlotte City Council approved an $89 million plan in 2023 to build a new underground bus hub at the site of the current transit center at Brevard and East Trade streets. It was slated to include private development above ground at the site, including a new Charlotte Hornets practice facility that has since been moved.

But Cagle told city leaders in the spring inflation drove up the estimated cost by about $20 million. And Mecklenburg County pushed back on the assumption it would chip in a $20 million tax increment grant to help finance the project, saying the city never communicated the request.

It upended the plan, Cagle said.

“The current concept that everyone’s seen, an underground facility with a private commercial development above, is not feasible,” he said.

CATS is looking into alternatives, Cagle said, including other sites that are uptown and “proximate to rail.”

The agency is also working with an architect on stop-gap improvements to the current facility — new lighting and furnishings, renovated restrooms and customer hold rooms.

“This is still multiple millions of dollars, but they’re not the ultimate plan …” Cagle said. “The CTC needs renovations today, probably has needed them for a while.”

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