I was asked recently from a buyer moving here from New York City to the Charlotte area about the mass transit system in Charlotte and surrounding towns. He mentioned that living in New York City he has not needed a car for the past ten years. It made me think. Coming here from Connecticut I remember taking a lot for granted when it came to public transportation. it was nothing to hope on the metro north and be in the city. Then between the subway and taxi cabs getting around the city was easy... You also took your life in your hands driving in New York City....but that si another story.
Charlotte, North Carolina is a large and growing area. Home to the second largest banking centers in the United States only to New York. With the cost of living in Charlotte signifcantly lower than that in New York and the affordability substantially higher a lot of people have considered the move to Charlotte. But how do you get around Charlotte?
Charlotte is home to the CATS system. CATS stands for Charlotte Area Transit System. Between Atlanta and Washington DC; this is the largest transit system in place. Home to over 70 different routes extending from Rock Hill, SC to Gastonia and up through Lake Norman area. One thing that has impressed me with the CATS system is there ever changing to stay up with the current influx of people. As the Charlotte area has grown in population CATS has grown with them. In my daily travels I am consistently seeing buses going up and down major thorough ways and through some side areas picking up and dropping off people daily.
Charlotte also about two years ago opened up the LYNX service. A commuter light rail system that runs from the I485 corridor at South Boulevard all the way to uptown. There are numerous discussions of expanding it to other areas and branching it out. Right now though, it offers an inexpensive alternative to getting to uptown. With free parking at their parking decks the light rail has made going to uptown very convient. It has over 15 stops along the way and has timed it to run with bus departures at the stops. So, no matter where you need to go in uptown the LYNX and bus line will connect you there.
That gives you a little bit of history of the what the mass transit system in Charlotte Area is like. Is it up to par with the population growth? In comparison to other large cities probably ..however; it is getting better each and every day as i get the impression that they are never satisfied. There are constantly adding and changing to adapt to the influx of people and trying to make it more convient for people to take Mass transit thus clogging up less of the roadways... With action plans in place the Transit system is ever changing and growing to meet the demands of the people commuting in and out of Charlotte on a daily basis.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
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