RALEIGH, N.C. (NCN News) – The State Auditor is out with a report on the Charlotte transit system, which found security gaps, unspent funding for safety equipment and losses from fee evaders.
The Rapid Response Special Report follows up on a preliminary report issued by the auditor’s office in response to the murder of Iryna Zarutska on a CATS light rail. Findings show how CATS has consistently struggled to deter and penalize non-ticketed riders. CATS estimates it loses between $5 million and $6.5 million annually due to fare evasion. An estimated 45% of bus and light rail riders do not pay to ride (35% for buses and 60% for light rail).
While fare evaders are supposed to be disciplined through warnings, citations, fines, or denial of ridership, enforcement is scarce. The number of citations issued for fare evasion dropped from 4,763 in 2023 to 2,018 in 2025. Fines collected by CATS for fare evasion on the light rail system totaled $750 in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2024 and $550 in SFY 2025, indicating significant undercollection.
CATS informed the auditor’s office that the number of fare evasion citations issued dropped because bus drivers were instructed not to enforce fares to protect them from altercations. Light rail operators are not tasked with fare collection. The Special Report notes that, “Above all, CATS should install gates or turnstiles to deter non-ticketed passengers, especially at light rail stations.”
“The City of Charlotte, CATS, and the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority need to take decisive action on public transportation security. CATS estimates almost half of all riders aren’t paying for a ticket. Up to $6.5 million may be lost annually to fare evasion, but only $550 in fare evasion fines for the light rail system were collected in State Fiscal Year 2025,” said State Auditor Dave Boliek in a press release. “The taxpayers of Charlotte pay the bill for CATS, and they’re asked to buy tickets to ride the bus or light rail. Moving forward, CATS and the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority should implement effective measures to stop fare evasion.”
OSA also examined CATS’s “Exclusion List,” which contains the names and photos of individuals banned from riding CATS bus and light rail systems. The list is accessible to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers and CATS bus and train operators, however, it’s unclear how exclusions are enforced. Further, while the City of Charlotte and CMPD have a memorandum of understanding for CMPD to staff a Metro Transit Unit, only two CMPD officers have been assigned to the unit.
When examining financials, OSA found that the City of Charlotte’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Adopted Budget provided CATS with $7.6 million for safety and security projects through FY 2029. CATS had a budget of $2.2 million to spend in FY 2025 on safety and security equipment, but actual expenditures for that fiscal year only totaled $470,242, leaving $1.7 million unspent. CATS told OSA the reasons for not utilizing the full budgeted amount were multi-year project complexity, capitalization timing, non-capital items, and active but incomplete projects.
In addition to recommending the installation of gates or turnstiles, OSA made several other recommendations for CATS to take. The City of Charlotte’s response is included in the Special Report, and notes a new fare enforcement ambassador team of more than 60 uniformed personnel will be launched in October.
In its response, Charlotte Mayor Robert Harrington pointed out several key steps being taken:
- Voter approval of the one-cent transportation sales tax (November 2025), activating the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority and enabling long-term planning, including evaluation of a dedicated transit police division funded through new recurring revenue.
- Creation of the first Integrated Security and Public Safety Plan for CATS (October 2025) with acceptance by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
- Completion of the FTA Agency Safety Plan Audit (February 2026), which established a federally supervised corrective action process that now guides several of our updates.
• Adoption of a funded fare modernization and enforcement program (June 2026), supporting systemwide improvements in fare collection and customer experience.