Long waits, missed buses: Is Better Bus enough to earn riders’ trust back? (Charlotte Observer)

Twice a week, Garrick Combs makes his way to St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church to volunteer at its food pantry. The church is only a 12-minute drive from his west Charlotte home. But Combs takes the bus, which means his commute takes over an hour. Combs became a full-time transit rider last October when his car was totaled in an accident.

Under-investment in Charlotte’s bus system has led to a service that is ill-equipped to meet the needs of Charlotte’s growing population, Sustain Charlotte CEO Shannon Binns said. The half-cent sales tax Mecklenburg County passed in 1998 helped expand Charlotte’s bus system, but the revenue hasn’t stretched far enough.

Potential improvements from the 1-cent sales tax are needed to give Charlotteans the service they deserve, he said. “People need to be able to know that if they show up at the bus stop, even if they just missed the bus, there’ll be another bus coming along relatively soon,” he said. “But because of our lack of investment in the bus system, we don’t have enough drivers, enough buses to meet that expectation that riders reasonably have.”

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