What next for Mecklenburg transit sales tax partners?

CHARLOTTE AREA TRANSIT SYSTEM

A proposed 1-cent sales tax to fund rail and road infrastructure in Mecklenburg County would need approval from the North Carolina General Assembly, where Republican leaders have voiced their preference for road projects.

Mecklenburg County’s municipal governments are a step closer to collaborating on legislation that would fund a 1-cent transit sales tax.

The City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County managers, and five of six towns have met to prepare draft legislation calling for county referendum on the tax, which would pay for mobility initiatives countywide, and establish a regional transit authority. Matthews’ town council on Monday voted down the proposal.

Charlotte leaders have long called for greater investment in transit equity as a civil right that can improve economic mobility along with backing a 1-cent mobility sales tax referendum. Another benefit of mass transit, advocates say, is the mitigation of pollution by transitioning commuters away from automobiles to buses and trains.

“The simple truth is that many of us rely on public transit every day to get to work, school, the grocery store or wherever it is we need to go,” Shannon Binns, founder and director of Sustain Charlotte, told The Post in 2022. “And if our teachers, nurses, grocery store clerks and other frontline workers can’t get where they need to be, that’s a problem for all of us.”

Elected officials in each jurisdiction will review and consider the proposed legislation for submission to state lawmakers. If the General Assembly signs off, Mecklenburg voters will have their say on a local referendum for regional transportation infrastructure investments for roads and rail.

Both chambers in the Republican-dominated legislature have repeatedly signaled their disinterest in funding rail-only initiatives – which Charlotte city officials have championed – while backing road-specific programs.

“People recognize this growth … is occurring all around us,” Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said in 2022. “The towns of Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson are growing at the same rapid rate that Charlotte is, so I believe that there is buy-in and understanding. The question is how do you fund it? I don’t think anyone in this region questions the need. I think the question is, what is the best way to get it done and what are the priorities for getting it done?”

Public transit is an economic engine for people of color, who are more likely to use it to get to work than their white peers.

According to the National Campaign for Transit Justice, 60% of public transit riders in the United States are people of color, with Black people making up 25%, followed by Hispanics at 20%. Those rates correspond with the percentage of households that lack personal transportation, including 18% of Black people, 13% of indigenous Americans and 11% of Hispanic people.

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