Charlotte transit · 1998–2026
Twenty-seven years on the line
A bus-only city built two rail lines, a streetcar, and an on-demand network — then handed the whole thing to a new authority backed by a one-cent tax. Here is the route the Metropolitan Transit Commission ran, stop by stop.
27
years of the commission, 1999–2026
2
rail lines built — Blue Line + Gold Line
$19B
30-year program the 2025 tax now funds
Mecklenburg County approves a half-cent sales tax dedicated to public transportation (Article 43) — the revenue base that made everything after it possible.
A governing body for the region’s transit, shared among the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and six surrounding towns.
The MTC consolidates the Charlotte Transit bus system with regional planning into the Charlotte Area Transit System — unified, countywide bus service.
The master plan that laid out rapid transit for five corridors — the blueprint the next twenty years would chase.
The first light rail of its kind in North Carolina — and the spark for a multi-billion-dollar wave of development that remade South End.
The modern streetcar opens, linking the Uptown transportation center to the Cherry and First Ward neighborhoods.
High-capacity rail reaches NoDa and University City, connecting Uptown to UNC Charlotte.
A second phase extends the streetcar to a full four-mile route, from Johnson C. Smith University in the west to Plaza Midwood in the east.
The MTC adopts the Better Bus Plan and introduces the county’s first on-demand microtransit. By April 2026, CATS Micro would post a 156% year-over-year ridership jump.
In September, the City of Charlotte acquires the Norfolk Southern “O-Line” corridor — the right-of-way the long-delayed Red Line commuter rail to Lake Norman will run on.
In May, the MTC adopts the 2055 Transit System Plan. On November 4, voters narrowly approve a one-cent transportation tax under the PAVE Act, authorizing a new 27-member authority. How the transit tax works →
On May 27, the MTC holds its final meeting — adopting an amended CATS fare policy before handing off. On July 1, the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority assumes operational control of CATS, the same day the one-cent tax takes effect. The line keeps going — under new management.
Mercury coverage
Sources: CATS / MTC public record; the May 27, 2026 MTC final-meeting record; Metro Magazine reporting on the MTC’s dissolution (May 27, 2026); WFAE / WBTV / WCNC and the Charlotte Area Transit System on the 2025 PAVE Act referendum (52.28%–47.72%, Nov. 4, 2025). Last updated May 30, 2026.