IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       
Contact: Jean Leier (704) 432-0496

COMMUTERS AVOIDING HIGH GAS PRICES BY TAKING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Charlotte, N.C., May 15, 2008 - The continual rise of gas prices and convenient access to public transportation has more and more commuters letting someone else do the driving.  “The regional express routes that include the six counties surrounding Mecklenburg have seen the greatest increases in ridership,” said Jim Zingale, Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) Chief Operating Officer.  “The 88X Lincoln County Express increased 84.8 percent and the 74X Union County Express rose 70.2 percent in ridership compared to the same time last year.”  The 80X Concord Express went up 44.3 percent, 85X Gastonia Express increased 24.2 percent, 83X Mooresville Express ridership rose 11.3 percent and the 82X Rock Hill Express saw an increase of 5.6 percent. 
 
Ridership for the month of April increased 28.4 percent across all services compared to April 2007.  During the month, local bus ridership rose 7 percent while neighborhood shuttles increased 8.9 percent.  CATS vanpool program also increased to 85 active vanpools with a ridership increase of 11.7 percent.
 
The LYNX Blue Line carried 344,251 passengers in April bringing the total ridership since opening to more than 1.9 million.  The weekday ridership averaged 12,689, which is over the 9,100 projected first year daily ridership.
 
For more information about CATS and its services, log onto the web at www.ridetransit.org or call 704-336-RIDE.