The policy pivot that puts safety ahead of standoffs
Charlotte’s transit leaders told City Council they have changed the rules at the bus door. Operators are no longer the tip of the spear on fare disputes. Drivers drive. Dedicated teams will check fares. Security will patrol to deter violence. That is the new posture after the killing of Irina Zarutska on August 22 and a run of operator assaults that made a bad job feel perilous.
The blunt math behind the shift was laid out in public: when drivers challenge fare payment at the front gate, the farebox becomes a flashpoint. Confrontations escalate. CATS has now decoupled fare enforcement from security and from the operator’s job. It is building a three-part system that relies on a revised fare policy, validation technology, and roving ticket checks backed by uniformed transit police.
Council members pressed for proof. They asked for citation numbers, staffing counts, and a schedule. CATS promised to deliver the data.
What CATS changed, and what it costs
From guard posts to transit policing
CATS consolidated its security work under Professional Security Services in December 2024 and shifted from static guard posts to a transit policing model. The contract now funds a force authorized at roughly 218 positions, with about 186 in place today. The annual spend sits just under $18 million—about triple the old contract. The system they police is large:
- 3,000+ bus stops
- 28 park-and-ride lots
- 4 transit centers (CTC Uptown, Rosa Parks, Eastland, SouthPark)
- 43 rail stations
- 235 fixed-route buses, 48 rail cars, 85 paratransit vehicles
- 4 operations facilities
What drivers can do—and what they won’t
Operators no longer enforce fares at the stepwell. They keep the route moving and use built-in tools when needed. Those include a discreet external “Call 911” sign and a panic function that opens a live microphone from the bus to the operations control center without the operator having to speak. The guidance is to pull over only when it clearly improves safety, for example to break a verbal confrontation by opening the doors and halting movement.
Fare enforcement gets its own spine
CATS plans to put ticket validation on rail where platform space allows, then use handheld validators and roving fare teams across the system. Ticketers will be backed by security—not the other way around. The agency is also studying a reduced-fare policy based on need, beyond the current age-based discounts, with an eye toward compliance without conflict.
Council asked for the counts: how many fare checkers are hired, where they are deployed, and how often they check. They also asked for fare citation totals and trendlines over time.
The open-system dilemma—and why turnstiles won’t save us
Council members asked the obvious question: if the suspect in the August 22 homicide boarded without paying, wouldn’t gates have helped? CATS answered not reliably—and in most cases, not legally or physically.
Charlotte built a mostly open system: rail platforms integrated with sidewalks and the rail trail, street-level access, and at-grade crossings. Many platforms do not have the space to add gates that meet ADA and safety standards. Fencing off the tracks to funnel people to a gate would introduce trespass risk along miles of street-integrated alignment. CATS will add validators where feasible and send roving teams everywhere else. But leaders were frank: barriers alone are not the answer, especially when a person shows no behavioral cues when boarding.
Cameras, alerts, and a mutual-aid bridge with CMPD
The security posture now relies on layers: more and better cameras across the fleet and stations, real-time viewing in operations centers, and multiple ways for riders and operators to signal for help. CATS is evaluating AI overlays on video that are strong at flagging firearms but still weak on knives—the weapon that featured in two recent incidents with very different endings.
Days after Zarutska’s murder, a person reportedly brandished knives at the Uptown Charlotte Transit Center. Security, alerted quickly, de-escalated and apprehended the person without injuries. The difference is not comforting. One event had no discernible cue; the other had public warnings a trained team could act on. Council members asked for clearer public instructions about how to report threats while in motion.
A mutual-aid agreement with CMPD is moving forward to close jurisdictional gaps, especially on the rail trail and at bus stops that sit just beyond CATS property lines. This is meant to speed response and clarify authority in the spaces between the platform edge and the sidewalk.
The dignity problem at 3,021 stops
Council took notice of the numbers on the bus side: 3,021 stops, and not nearly enough shelters or benches. If you charge a fare, the argument goes, provide a dignified place to wait. Charlotte’s bus network has many bare poles and sunbaked corners, a quality-of-life issue that bleeds into safety.
CATS said more shelters and lighting are coming, and that upgrades are planned at all four transit centers. The agency also stressed that microtransit zones reduce the need for stops in some neighborhoods, since riders can be picked up closer to home. Council asked for a shelter/bench plan by location and schedule.
What happened on August 22—and what didn’t
CATS leaders outlined the timeline as they understand it from camera review:
- The suspect boarded a bus without paying and did not show erratic behavior that would trigger an operator stop.
- The suspect later transferred to rail.
- Cameras helped reconstruct the route and share images with CMPD, leading to an arrest.
- There is no single barrier or fare checkpoint that would guarantee prevention in a case with no early cues.
Council wanted more than the immediate facts. They requested:
- Fare citation totals year-to-date vs. past years
- Security and fare enforcement staffing numbers and schedules
- An operator safety survey
- A station-by-station plan for platform validators and CPTED improvements
CATS committed to provide those reports.
The part we keep skipping: behavioral health
CATS’s new Chief Safety and Security Officer said the quiet thing out loud: transit is a microcosm of the city’s mental-health crisis. That reality exceeds what security—or even police—can fix. Council members asked for concrete steps to embed behavioral specialists into the response, potentially through hospital and university partners, with nurse navigators who can connect people in crisis to care. The goal is not to medicalize transit, but to stop treating trains and buses as a last-resort clinic.
What to watch next
- A public fare enforcement rollout plan with dates and coverage by corridor
- The mutual-aid agreement’s scope and how it changes response on the rail trail and at stops
- A shelter lighting buildout schedule, plus a map of stop removals tied to microtransit
- A simple, rider-facing “how to report” card for apps, call boxes, and on-board tools
- A quarterly incident dashboard that tracks violent incidents and operator assaults by line and location
Reader questions we’ll keep asking
- How will CATS measure whether fewer fare disputes at the door translates into fewer assaults on operators?
- For stations that cannot host gates or validators, what is the most effective deterrent short of a turnstile?
- How quickly can joint behavioral-health teams be part of the playbook, not the exception?
About the Author
Jack Beckett, I am powered by public records and coffee brewed at a strength that voids most warranties. If you like journalism that doesn’t waste your time, you will like what we pack into The Charlotte Mercury. Start with our latest reporting in News and drill into City Hall in Politics. And because democracy is a participation sport, we built “Poll Dance 2025”—our acerbic, no-nonsense guide to this year’s races, spending plans, and candidate promises you might need a protractor to parse. It lives here: Poll Dance 2025. Got a tip, a correction, or a better coffee roast? You can always message us on X.com, or Twitter, or as we call it Twix: @queencityexp.
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This article, “Inside CATS’s Fare and Safety Reset After Irina Zarutska’s Killing,” by Jack Beckett is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.
“Inside CATS’s Fare and Safety Reset After Irina Zarutska’s Killing”
by Jack Beckett, The Charlotte Mercury (CC BY-ND 4.0)