CATS Microtransit Service Officially Launches
Published on February 24, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 21, 2025
Contact: 980.722.0311.
logan.lover@charlottenc.gov
CATS Microtransit Service Officially Launches
CATS Micro to Provide More Access to Jobs, Health Care, Education and Major Activity Centers in Northern Mecklenburg County
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) hosted an event at the Cornelius Park & Ride to launch its new microtransit service, CATS Micro. The service will begin operating Monday, Feb. 24, 2025.
CATS Micro is an on-demand, shared-ride service that gets you where you need to go, for the same fare as a local bus or rail trip. CATS Micro operates point-to-point within a designated zone and will initially serve the Northern Mecklenburg County area, including the towns of Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville and Charlotte.
“This part of Mecklenburg County is full of activity centers, jobs, education centers, healthcare and more. CATS Micro will help in connecting customers seamlessly to these areas as well as each other,” said Interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle.
CATS is partnering with MV Transportation and Spare to provide this new service and enhance mobility options. MV Transportation is providing turnkey service operations for CATS Micro, partnering with local organization, My Little Helper. Spare is an all-in-one mobility operations platform that is designed to provide an end-to-end scheduling and booking platform for operating modern paratransit and microtransit systems. The Spare trip booking tool is seamlessly integrated into the CATS-Pass app, allowing riders to book trips in the app.
CATS Micro will operate on a daily basis, as follows:
Weekdays: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Weekends: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
By introducing these on-demand services that are part of our Better Bus Plan, we're providing Mecklenburg County residents with flexible and convenient transportation solutions that seamlessly integrate with our existing transit network and better connect the community,” said Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) Chair and Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles.
Microtransit is one of the key initiatives outlined in the Better Bus Plan, adopted by the MTC in May 2022. It is part of the larger goal to build a further reliable, connected and accessible mobility network for the CATS service area.
Over the next several months, CATS staff will continue to host community engagement meetings in Northern Mecklenburg County to educate riders and any answer questions. Riders can learn more at RideTransit.org
For questions or concerns, riders can speak directly to a customer service representative at 704.336.7433.
Customer service call center hours are 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
When available, photos from the launch event will be available here.
About the Charlotte Area Transit System
Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is a department of the City of Charlotte and governed by the Metropolitan Transit Commission. CATS is the largest transit system between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, offering bus, light rail, streetcar, vanpool and paratransit services. Learn more by visiting RideTransit.org or follow CATS on X, Instagram and Facebook.