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

CATS ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL COST-SAVING MEASURES

Charlotte, N.C., March 25, 2009 - In light of the tough current economic conditions, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) continues to see a decline in sales tax revenue, CATS main funding source.  Therefore, additional measures are needed to help manage costs, including the reduction of staff,  temporary suspension of pay for the Memorial Day holiday and the reduction of some trips on selected weekend bus routes.  Transit Management of Charlotte (TMOC), who manages the Bus Operations Division (BOD), is also identifying equivalent savings of approximately 40 bus operators over the next three months.

During the next 30 days, CATS will eliminate up to 10 City employee positions across all levels of the organization.  City employees affected by the layoff and in good standing will be eligible for a severance package of one week's pay for each full year of service along with any unused vacation days.  The Bus Operators are governed by a collective bargaining agreement and some positions could be obtained through normal attrition.

"Having to reduce staff is the toughest dilemma any organization must go through," said Keith Parker, Chief Executive Officer CATS.  "My expectation is that we come out of this difficult time stronger as a department with even more focus on our number one priority-the needs of our customers."  These additional actions are essential to CATS balancing its budget amid reduced revenue occurring now in FY2009 and also projected in FY2010.  This initiative combined with previous actions taken by CATS will reduce the organization's total expenses by over $14 million in FY2009.

Prior to March 2, CATS took several measures to reduce operating and capital expenses from across the organization including:

•Eliminating six low-performing bus routes
•Freezing 39 CATS/City positions
•Ending all travel, unless critical for business
•Savings from the rapid transit corridor program
•Reducing marketing expenses
•Delaying anticipated purchases
•Savings in fuel costs

The transit sales tax, which was originally projected to generate $76 million in FY2009, is now expected to bring in about $65 million.  The transit sales tax covers mostly discretionary purchases like furniture, appliances and clothing.  It does not apply to grocery foods, services, mortgages or rent payments.  Revenue from state and federal sources are also down this year.  Overall, CATS' has reduced its adopted FY2009 budget from $135.7 million to $123.7 million.  Despite sales tax revenue for the months of November and December being down 25 percent and 15 percent respectively, ridership and fare revenue are up.   Year-to-date through the first seven months of FY2009, ridership increased 25.8 percent and fare revenue rose 53 percent.  CATS is projected to have its highest ridership year in over 60 years.

For more information about CATS and its services, log on to www.ridetransit.org or call Customer Service at 704-336-RIDE (7433).