Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority
Regional transit authority (governs CATS as of July 1, 2026)
People
- David L. Howard, Chair (City of Charlotte)
- Frank Emory, Vice Chair (City of Charlotte)
- Justin Harlow, Trustee; Finance & Audit Committee Vice Chair (Mecklenburg County)
- David Longo, Trustee; Operations & Safety Committee Vice Chair (NC House of Representatives)
- Dana Stoogenke, Trustee; PCPD Committee Vice Chair (Town of Matthews)
- Ned Curran, Treasurer; Finance & Audit Committee Chair (NC Senate)
- Christy Long, Secretary (City of Charlotte)
- Charles Bowman, Trustee (City of Charlotte)
- Mike Bryant, At-Large Trustee (Mecklenburg County)
- Todd Collins, Trustee (City of Charlotte)
- Wyatt T. Dixon, III, Trustee (City of Charlotte)
- Julie Eiselt, Trustee; Operations & Safety Committee Chair (Mecklenburg County)
- Lucia Zapata Griffith, Trustee (City of Charlotte)
- T. Anthony Lindsey, Trustee (Town of Huntersville)
- Corine Mack, Trustee (City of Charlotte)
- Bob Menzel, Trustee (Town of Cornelius)
- Jocelyn Jones Nolley, Trustee (City of Charlotte)
- Peter A. Pappas, Trustee (City of Charlotte)
- Cameron Pruette, Trustee (City of Charlotte)
- Jeffrey Robbins, Trustee (Town of Pineville)
- Kenneth Schorr, Trustee (Mecklenburg County)
- Clayton Sealey, Trustee (Mecklenburg County)
- Brad A. Simmons, Trustee; MPTA CRTPO Representative (Town of Mint Hill)
- Alysia Davis Steadman, Trustee; Planning & Capital Project Delivery Committee Chair (Mecklenburg County)
- Dwayne Walker, Trustee (NC Governor)
- Matthew Walt, Trustee (Town of Davidson)
- Katrina Jones Young, Trustee (City of Charlotte)
- Michael Foess, Alternate Trustee (Town of Huntersville)
- Susan Habina-Woolard, Alternate Trustee (Town of Matthews)
- Lou Raymond, Alternate Trustee (Town of Cornelius)
- Chris Tucker, Alternate Trustee (Town of Pineville)
- Brian Welch, Alternate Trustee (Town of Mint Hill)
- Nigeria Johnson, Committee liaison (City of Charlotte staff)
- Emily Kunze, Board liaison (City of Charlotte staff)
- Mindy Levine, Committee liaison (City of Charlotte staff)
Coverage (1 article)
CATS Changes Hands July 1: What Ballantyne Should Know
Starting July 1, a new regional authority takes over Charlotte's buses and trains, and the one-cent tax that funds them. Here is the short version for the Ballantyne area, with the full account at The Charlotte Mercury.
Other coverage in the Mercury Local network
CATS Hand-Off Deals Go to Charlotte Council Dec. 14
Charlotte's council is to vote Dec. 14 on three agreements the regional transit authority needs before it takes control of CATS operations Jan. 1. Also: nonprofit funding, crime, Gateway Station, wages.
MPTA Names Brad Thomas Its Interim General Counsel
Charlotte's transit authority voted Sept. 10 to make CATS general counsel Brad Thomas its own lawyer for six months starting Jan. 1, the day CATS employees are to move from the city to the authority.
Charlotte's Housing Bond Plan Now Says Where Homes Should Go
Before voters decide on a $125 million housing bond in November, city staff laid out how the money would be split, with new goals for homes near transit and in higher-opportunity neighborhoods. Council plans to adopt the plan in October.
I-77 Toll Lanes: Charlotte Unmoved, $60 Million Disputed
At its last meeting before the September 23 reinstatement vote, CRTPO heard that Charlotte's position on the I-77 South toll lanes is unchanged, that the alternatives analysis cannot finish in time, and that the $60 million repayment figure is disputed by the county's account of NCDOT's own spending.
MPTA Orders Study of Possible West Craighead Station
MPTA unanimously ordered a separate planning study for a possible future West Craighead infill station. The action leaves the current 11-station Red Line plan unchanged while requiring CATS to begin working with the city, county, property owners and community stakeholders.
Charlotte Transit Board Expands Interim CEO's Spending Power
Charlotte's new transit authority gave its interim CEO expanded authority to sign technology contracts without case-by-case board approval, racing a Jan. 1 deadline to separate CATS from the city's systems. The vote passed with two opposed, after trustees warned they risked rubber-stamping a roughly $35 million transition they had not fully vetted.
MPTA Panel Votes 5-4 Against West Craighead Red Line Stop
A committee of Charlotte's new transit authority voted 5-4 against recommending a West Craighead station for the Red Line, siding with staff who warned an extra stop could weaken the project's bid for federal money. A Sugar Creek neighborhood coalition that spent two years making the case gets one more chance at the full board on Aug. 12.
Charlotte's New Transit Authority Clears Last State Hurdle
The new regional authority that will run Charlotte's buses and trains cleared its last state requirement on June 24, and the rail lines and the long-promised Gateway hub sit at Fourth Ward's doorstep. The full account is at The Charlotte Mercury.