A group of advocacy organizations are calling for greater safety measures on the Charlotte Area Transit System. They announced a bus safety initiative at Monday night’s Charlotte City Council meeting and called on city officials to join them in riding several bus routes on May 4, to see what passengers experience daily. Corine Mack is president of the local NAACP, which is a partner in the initiative.
"We need to do something to ensure that when folks ride, they make it safely home," she said.
Last May, a shootout occurred between a bus driver and a rider, leaving both wounded. And in October of last year, a fight between two passengers ended with one being stabbed multiple times.
"I’ve watched videos and it was very disturbing to watch a video of having a person cursed out and a gun pulled on them. When someone pulls a gun or someone decides to shoot that gun, a bullet does not have a name, several can be hurt."
Mack says they will ride buses in the Beatties Ford, North Tryon, Eastland and Central Avenue areas on May 4 and hold a rally afterward at the Charlotte Transportation Center. The mother of Ethan Rivera, a CATS bus driver who was shot and killed in 2022, is expected to participate. Surveys will be available that day for riders to express their concerns about public transportation and share possible solutions.
