Charlotte’s transit system is under federal scrutiny after a new independent safety audit found widespread failures following a deadly light-rail stabbing.
The Federal Transit Administration released its audit Monday, citing 18 areas of non-compliance and issuing a 30-day deadline for the Charlotte Area Transit System to submit a corrective action plan. The review followed the August 2025 killing of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian woman, aboard a CATS light-rail train.
Federal investigators found that CATS repeatedly failed to follow its own safety plan, did not properly assess risks, and lacked basic oversight tools needed to protect riders and employees.
Key violations and findings include:
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Failure to use required safety risk assessment methods when evaluating assaults on workers
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No system to verify whether safety mitigations were implemented as intended
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No process to measure whether safety fixes were effective
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Missing or incomplete safety performance targets
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No annual safety performance assessment process
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No plan to address known safety deficiencies
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A non-compliant labor-management safety committee
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Unequal representation between frontline workers and management
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Safety committee procedures missing from official plans and bylaws
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Safety committee did not review or approve the Agency Safety Plan
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Failure to identify or recommend safety risk mitigations
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Failure to flag ineffective or improperly implemented mitigations
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No continuous safety improvement process
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No safety risk reduction program for bus service
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No safety risk reduction performance targets
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Missing targets for certain modes, including vanpool
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Required collision and injury tracking metrics not established
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Incomplete de-escalation training for applicable transit workers
The audit also found serious crime trends. Assaults on CATS employees occurred at five times the national average in 2025. Crimes against passengers ran at three times the national average.
FTA officials said incidents most often occurred on the light rail, at the Charlotte Transit Center, and on bus routes with high fare evasion, long stops, and limited law enforcement access.
The federal agency issued six non-mandatory recommendations, including revising risk-assessment tools, standardizing safety data systems, and training safety committee members on their responsibilities.
CATS now faces a tight deadline to address the violations. Federal officials warned that failure to act could trigger deeper oversight and potential consequences tied to future transit funding.
