Mecklenburg transit future rides on voter referendum

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

Mecklenburg County voters will decide the future of mass transit across the region when they head to the polls to vote on a 1-cent sales tax boost to fund billions in infrastructure upgrades over the next 30 years.

Mass transit is a necessity as Mecklenburg County’s population surges. 

The most efficient way to pay and implement for initiates – and who should bear the cost – is the subject of raging debate at the intersection of economics, race and urban development.

Is a 1-cent sales tax enough investment for infrastructure enough, or a start to accommodate a region expected to add another 600,000 people in the next 20 years? As voters weigh the possibilities of a sales tax referendum, The Post is launching a series on the state of transportation in Charlotte and the communities most impacted by mass transit.

We’ll engage people who live, work and commute along light rail and bus routes and how initiatives have changed Charlotte’s neighborhoods since the Lynx Blue Line launched in 2007. We’ll dive into how mass transit has sparked business growth as well as gentrification in the urban core; connected neighborhoods and opened divisions over costs, service and access. 

The Metropolitan Transit Commission voted in May to prioritize a 50% increase in bus service along with 43 miles of new rail service along rapid transit corridors. The referendum on November’s ballot would commit Mecklenburg to billions in roadways and public transportation.

If voters approve it, the local levy will raise Mecklenburg’s sales tax from 7.25% to 8.25% and generate a projected $19.4 billion over 30 years. In a politically segmented environment, the resources are strictly local – new state or federal funding isn’t likely to arrive soon, if ever. 

Under the MTC plan, the upgrades would add: 

• Bus stops that can be accessed by additional 450,000 people

• 2,000 new shelters, benches, and waiting pads

• Micro transit zones consisting of 18 new hubs across Mecklenburg

• 89 new buses

• 12 miles for light rail, with 10 miles for Silver Line from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Bojangles Coliseum and Ovens Auditorium and 2 miles for the Blue Line extension from I-485/South Boulevard to Carolina Place Mall in Pineville

• 6 miles for the Gold Line extension, which stretches from Eastland in east Charlotte to Rosa Parks Place in the west

• 25 miles for the Red Line commuter rail from Center City to south Iredell County

• Silver Line rail extensions west to I-485 and east to Matthews and the Blue Line to Ballantyne if funding allows, and upgraded bus service in the interim

Referendum supporters contend the transit tax is necessary to keep pace with growth. Opponents counter the levy doesn’t provide significant detail on what is included in the tax or whether it is permanent. Another concern is the tax is regressive, which means lower income people pay a greater share of the investment.

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 align with the percentage of households nationally that lack personal transportation, including 18% of Black people, 13% of indigenous Americans and 11% of Hispanics. 

According to a 2024 survey by Charlotte Area Transit System, Black people made up three-quarters of bus riders, far outpacing white (11%) and Hispanic (5%) commuters. About half (48%) had a yearly income under $50,000.  

Light rail demographics show a diversity shift: 57% of commuters were Black, 25% white and 12% Hispanic. At least 43% of riders earned less than $50,000.

Proponents contend the referendum is an opportunity for the region to address economic inequity by lowering barriers for lowering barriers to jobs for people in lower-income communities. The initiative is based on the “Better Bus” model, which would put buses on 15-minute frequency schedule supporters contend would increase access and socioeconomic opportunity.

“This could serve 202,000 more people of color compared to the 40,000 it’s serving right now,” Mecklenburg commissioners Chair Mark Jerrell said in May. “Three hundred twenty thousand more jobs would be accessible within a half mile of the 15-minute frequency than 120,000 today.”

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