In Charlotte, $3.4M to change public perception of public transit
The city of Charlotte is investing at least $3.4 million in a Washington-based public relations firm to improve the public’s perception and use of public transit in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. This decision followed recent violent incidents on light rail trains, including the widely publicized stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska in August and another stabbing that critically injured a passenger. The City Council unanimously approved the contract,which allows for three one-year terms with potential price adjustments.
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) has contracted the Sherry Matthews Group for services including marketing, branding, public relations, community engagement, media and event planning, and crisis dialog support. However, an audit initiated by Republican state auditor Dave Boliek highlighted important safety concerns: armed security personnel on CATS transit have decreased by 55%, while contract costs have risen dramatically from $5.9 million in 2022 to $18.4 million in 2023. The audit also revealed a large number of vacant armed guard positions (82.1%) despite coverage allowing guards on all train cars together. CATS serves nearly 925,000 people with extensive rail and bus networks covering a large area, underscoring the challenges in balancing transit safety, security, and public trust.
In Charlotte, $3.4M to change public perception of embattled public transit
(The Center Square) – Charlotte taxpayers are spending a minimum of $3.4 million and possibly more for a Washington public relations firm’s aim of “enhancing the public’s perception and use of public transit in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area.”
Nine Democrats and two Republicans on the City Council delivered a unanimous vote to climax the Sept. 11 issuance of request for proposals. That was six days after the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released video footage of the Aug. 22 stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska on a light rail train, a video that went viral and led to foundational change through new state law named for the victim.
The vote comes four days after another stabbing on a Charlotte light rail train. The victim was critically injured, and federal authorities say the suspect charged with first-degree murder is illegally in America.
The Charlotte Area Transit System, known colloquially as CATS, is paying the Sherry Matthews Group to “supplement CATS’s internal resources by providing specialized expertise in areas such as general marketing and advertising, branding, public relations, public affairs, digital communications, community engagement, media planning, event planning, and crisis communications.”
City Council correspondence says the deal is three one-year terms, with renewals a time for potential price adjustments “based on legitimate and justified increases in the cost of doing business.”
Following the death of Zarutska, first-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek took a different route, opening an investigation into safety and spending.
His staff’s preliminary audit found a 55% reduction in armed security staff, 211% increase in contract value, and ties to diversity, equity and inclusion in a damning analysis released Sept. 30.
Armed security personnel for CATS were between 68 and 88 in a 2018 contract with G4S Secure Solutions. September’s detail was 39.
PSS has the contract today. The pact was for $5.9 million in 2022 and is $18.4 million this year.
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When the audit was released, the contract allowed up to 219 personnel. That means 82.1% of the available jobs were vacant in an agreement allowing armed guards on all 48 train cars at once.
The audit said CATS had ridership of 14.9 million in fiscal year 2024 in a 675-square-mile service area for the nation’s 14th largest city with population of about 925,000. There are 48 train cars in two rail services; more than 330 buses on 67 routes and more than 3,000 stops; and four transit centers.
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