{"id":1075,"date":"2026-06-02T12:07:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075"},"modified":"2026-06-02T12:07:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:07:39","slug":"pray-you-make-it-home-why-driving-a-cats-bus-in-charlotte-is-dangerous-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a chilly January night in 2025, CATS bus driver Sheila Andrews buckled her seatbelt at the uptown Charlotte transit center<\/a> as passengers boarded. That\u2019s when two drunk teen girls attacked her.<\/p>\n

Read more 8-year-old dies after gun left unsecured at home with children, NC sheriff says<\/a><\/p>\n

Her only help came from a passenger who yanked the girls away.<\/p>\n

Terrified. Powerless. Alone. CATS bus drivers before her had experienced these feelings, and drivers after her would too.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s why: Charlotte Area Transit System<\/a> bus drivers are three times as likely to be physically or verbally assaulted than the average bus driver nationwide, a Charlotte Observer analysis of federal data<\/a> found.<\/p>\n

The Observer analyzed Federal Transit Administration<\/a> and city crime databases, reviewed police records and interviewed five former bus drivers, a national union leader, CATS officials and transit experts. Our research found:<\/p>\n

Last summer, CATS\u2019 security was thrust into the national spotlight after the high-profile stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska<\/a> on a light rail train. The case was quickly politicized<\/a>. CATS beefed up security and planned changes to improve safety.<\/p>\n

In a news release last Friday, May 29, CATS said the agency is now seeing results after enhancing transit security over the last three years, including improved communication and response times during emergencies.<\/p>\n

The ex-bus drivers say security overhauls have been needed for a long time. Before Zarutska was killed, a bus driver was shot and killed in a 2022 road rage incident<\/a>. A year later, a driver ended up in a shoot-out with a passenger<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Delaney Evans, who drove a CATS bus for 10 years, said she has been spit on, threatened, cursed at, stalked.<\/p>\n

She learned to keep her sunglasses on and avoid engaging with passengers. Evans was pretty much on her own, she said, except for the one time a passenger cared enough to finish her route with her so she wasn\u2019t left alone with a rider who was pacing the bus, yelling.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day you have to wake up and pray that you\u2019re gonna make it home the same way you left,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

At times, drivers work on high alert, unsure whether passengers who are threatening them will get physical, the former bus drivers said. But they\u2019re largely powerless to do anything about it.<\/p>\n

CATS drivers are supposed to radio the bus operations center if a passenger causes problems, or if someone boards who was banned for previous bad behavior. But they often get the same response: \u201cLet \u2018em ride,\u201d former drivers said.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not allowed to carry weapons or pepper spray. They can get in trouble if they drive by someone at a stop who had threatened them earlier.<\/p>\n

And they are not allowed to carry cell phones to make sure they stay focused. So they can\u2019t dial 911. The phone rule is standard protocol nationwide, according to the American Public Transportation Association.<\/p>\n

People who were banned for dangerous behavior often still find a way to ride.<\/p>\n

More than a dozen people who were banned last year were banned a second time for another offense even as they were prohibited from using the system in the first place, CATS records obtained by the Observer in a public records request show.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c(Management) doesn\u2019t care about what happens to the driver,\u201d Andrews said, \u201cas long as there\u2019s someone in the seat.\u201d<\/p>\n

CATS drivers work for a private company, not the city. Transit Management of Charlotte contracts with CATS for the drivers, who are subject to rules from both.<\/p>\n

CATS establishes some policies, such as the weapons ban, while the private company handles discipline.<\/p>\n

Drivers could be penalized or fired if they talk to reporters without authorization, according to a vice president with their union. San Francisco-based WeDriveU, the parent company for Transit Management of Charlotte, declined a request from the Observer to interview current bus drivers.<\/p>\n

Instead, WeDriveU provided a statement from Oluseyi Osiyemi, a general manager in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

The company is grateful to its bus drivers, Osiyemi stated. \u201cThe safety of our bus operators and passengers is our number one focus, and we\u2019re pleased to collaborate with CATS on enhancements that are making a positive impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

About 160 of the 200 reported driver assaults were verbal harassment, threats or attempts at physical harm, according to the Observer analysis of federal data. But these interactions can sometimes escalate into physical violence.<\/p>\n

In the spring of 2023, while in a CATS break room, driver Tierra Mack\u2019s coworker shared that a man was threatening him on his route.<\/p>\n

That coworker, David Fullard, started carrying a handgun on the bus.<\/p>\n

When the threatening passenger pulled a gun on Fullard on the bus, he grabbed his own weapon and both men fired. Both Fullard and the man were injured but survived.<\/p>\n

After the shootout, CATS vowed to double its security spending, replaced its security contractor and launched what it called de-escalation training.<\/a><\/p>\n

Fullard did not face charges but was fired. A different company, RATP Dev USA, employed bus drivers then.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s backing you up? You\u2019re going to lose your job, or you lose your life,\u201d said Mack, an eight-year CATS veteran who left in 2024. \u201cThat\u2019s what most of the talk was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fullard should have radioed the bus operations center for help, CATS officials said at the time<\/a>, instead of wielding a gun. But former drivers said that drivers knew that help came too late when they called.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time it takes for them to get to your bus,\u201d Mack said, \u201cif you have a situation, you could already be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trouble on a couple of routes is driving the higher-than-normal assault rates CATS sees, according to Brent Cagle, interim CEO of CATS. Police officers focus on those lines: Route 11, which travels along Tryon Street between uptown and UNC Charlotte, and Route 21, which runs parallel to Interstate 77 almost to Interstate 485.<\/p>\n

But Mack, who now works for the Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority<\/a> in Orlando, thinks the higher assault rate in Charlotte has to do with sparse driver support from management.<\/p>\n

Over the last several years, the Orlando agency recorded about nine driver assaults per 10 million passenger trips.<\/p>\n

Charlotte had about 77.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest changes for Mack in Florida: security response. Recently, a man on her bus started getting loud and cursing. She said security was at her side almost immediately after she called for help. They removed the man, and Mack kept on rolling.<\/p>\n

In Charlotte, she was left to defend herself when she radioed for help.<\/p>\n

On a January 2024 morning in West Charlotte, a woman boarded her bus on Route 1 in Northwest Charlotte with a child in a stroller. Mack told her she\u2019d have to take the kid out of the stroller before she could drive, for their safety.<\/p>\n

The woman started cursing her out. Mack radioed the bus operations center for help. She wound up waiting at least 20 minutes for police officers to arrive.<\/p>\n

Mack called it \u201c20 minutes of torture.\u201d<\/p>\n

She got off the bus before the officers arrived. The woman followed her, shouting. Seemingly out of nowhere, people on the sidewalk joined her and started hurling objects at her.<\/p>\n

A bottle of MD 20\/20 fortified wine hit her leg. Others threw bricks and a metal pole.<\/p>\n

She couldn\u2019t call 911 because she wasn\u2019t allowed to have a phone on her. Mack pulled out the one contraband item she had: a pocketknife. The crowd backed off, enough for her to get space before the police arrived.<\/p>\n

Much of the public focus<\/a> on CATS security has centered around the light rail after Zarutska was killed, but former bus drivers say buses should get more attention.<\/p>\n

In February, Federal Transit Administrator<\/a> Marcus Molinaro visited Charlotte to assess how CATS was responding to safety concerns, and rode the light rail \u2014 but no buses.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Inappropriate\u2019 texts from NC insurance commissioner draw heat from Democrats<\/a><\/p>\n

During an April CMPD news conference<\/a>, police officials boasted a 69% reduction in violent crimes on the Blue Line compared to last year, but said nothing about crime trends on buses.<\/p>\n

But bus drivers endure assaults far more often than light rail operators.<\/p>\n

Buses present security challenges<\/a> that light rail does not. On the light rail, drivers are in a separate cab and do not interact with passengers. On the bus, the driver is exposed to every rider.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe industry has found no solution for that,\u201d Cagle said.<\/p>\n

Off-duty police officers routinely ride the light rail. But it\u2019s not feasible for them to ride buses like that. There are too many routes and too many vehicles, Cagle said.<\/p>\n

Doris Edwards rejected that notion. She drove CATS buses for about four years and said it\u2019s \u201ctotally insane\u201d that officers ride the light rail but not buses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people don\u2019t have access to the train operator. They\u2019re safe. We\u2019re right in the open,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cThey don\u2019t give a darn about us. All they\u2019ll do is put somebody else in the seat if something happened to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

CATS contracts with Professional Security Services<\/a> for unarmed and armed security personnel. PSS has been the sole security contractor since December 2024.<\/p>\n

Prior to that, a different company provided armed guards while PSS provided unarmed guards for a couple of years. The other company, Strategic Security Corp, was dropped because it wasn\u2019t doing a good enough job, according to the Office of the State Auditor for North Carolina.<\/a><\/p>\n

PSS did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n

The security workers that Edwards and Andrews encountered did not make them feel safer, they said. Andrews referred to them as \u201ckids,\u201d the unarmed security employees who sometimes rode on the bus with her.<\/p>\n

Andrews and Edwards said security workers often sat on their phones, not watching their surroundings. One time, the pair on Andrews\u2019 bus were so absorbed with their screens they didn\u2019t notice she snapped a photo of them at the end of her route when she was done driving, she said.<\/p>\n

Passengers got in Edwards\u2019 face several times when she worked at CATS, she said, and security never helped her.<\/p>\n

In 2024, when PSS and Strategic Security Corp shared security duties, one man got angry because Edwards wouldn\u2019t stop the bus when he demanded. The man then sought her out at the transit center in uptown days later.<\/p>\n

\u201cB—-, I will slap the s— out of you,\u201d he said to her.<\/p>\n

She screamed for security. Instead, a male bus driver came to her aid and told the guy to move along.<\/p>\n

Last week, CATS touted security upgrades that could address some of the former drivers\u2019 criticisms.<\/p>\n

Radio controllers now have real-time video access to see what\u2019s happening inside transit vehicles and new protocols for prioritizing calls for help from buses.<\/p>\n

CATS also created a chief safety and security officer position last year. During a Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority meeting in March<\/a>, that officer, Eric Osnes,<\/a> said his team now studies footage of assaults on drivers to learn lessons that may mitigate future conflicts.<\/p>\n

But Osnes<\/a> was not available for an interview for this story, said Catherine Kummer, spokeswoman for CATS. When asked why, she said: \u201cHe\u2019s doing his job.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a lot going on right now. So having him sit down and do this interview … he\u2019s got some other priorities right now,\u201d Kummer said.<\/p>\n

CATS asserted that it is seeing \u201ca significant downward trend\u201d in crime: there were 67% fewer physical assaults of bus drivers or passengers in the first quarter of this year, compared to the first quarter of last year.<\/p>\n

But that amounts to a small shift over a narrow time period. In the first quarter of last year, bus drivers were assaulted three times. During the first quarter this year, they had two assaults. Passenger-on-passenger assaults dropped from three to zero.<\/p>\n

More changes are coming. They may include forming CATS\u2019 own law enforcement agency, a move the new Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority<\/a> is considering following voter approval<\/a> for the transit tax<\/a> last November.<\/p>\n

CATS is also adding more security guards and more dispatchers who coordinate emergency response when drivers call for help, while off-duty CMPD officers provide extra coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cAssaults are horrible anywhere, and to anyone to which they happen. We\u2019re doing the best that we can,\u201d Kummer said. \u201cWe know that there\u2019s a lot more work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is unclear how much off-duty officer time is dedicated to buses. Kummer referred the Observer to CMPD, who didn\u2019t answer questions about bus staffing. The agency\u2019s emailed response referred only to patrolling the Blue Line light rail.<\/p>\n

Before working at CATS, Andrews drove charter buses. She loved that job. Clients respected her on long, fun drives across the country, and managers treated her right.<\/p>\n

She left that Richmond, Va., job in 2015 for a move to Charlotte to be closer to her grandchildren.<\/p>\n

About a decade later, Andrews was parked at the uptown transit center around 7 p.m., getting ready to drive CATS Route 16, which runs south on Tryon Street to the McDowell Nature Preserve area.<\/p>\n

The regular working-class crew heading home for the day filed onto her bus when a supervisor popped by the front door and motioned to two teen girls. He told her not to let them board, then vanished.<\/p>\n

Andrews couldn\u2019t close the doors. About 30 people were boarding.<\/p>\n

So the teens slipped on. They were rowdy. They were drunk.<\/p>\n

A CATS ambassador was on board, going home for the day. Ambassadors are part-time employees who wear yellow vests, provide customer service to passengers and look out for suspicious activity.<\/p>\n

The drunk teens stood between her and the ambassador, who asked loudly enough for them to hear if she should go find security.<\/p>\n

That set the teens off.<\/p>\n

They came barreling toward Andrews, reached around the barrier at the front of the bus and started hitting her. One of them decked her in the nose, breaking it. Another passenger pulled the girls off her.<\/p>\n

Andrews was unable to defend herself while wearing her seat belt, she wrote in her employee statement that day.<\/p>\n

Her nose healed. But over the coming months, she realized she was struggling with vision loss.<\/p>\n

Her doctor could not tie her new problem to the assault, but Andrews wonders if the blow to her face triggered it.<\/p>\n

Her managers never reached out to ask how she was doing, she said.<\/p>\n

If they did, she\u2019d tell them this: She wasn\u2019t ready to quit working at 62. She wanted a few more years. Now, she doesn\u2019t know what to do with herself.<\/p>\n

Andrews planned to go back to charter buses one day.<\/p>\n

But Jan. 2, 2025, the day she was attacked, was the last day she ever drove a bus.<\/p>\n

Public transit agencies like CATS have reported verbal and physical assaults on workers to the Federal Transit Administration since 2023. The Observer’s data reporter Caitlin McGlade aggregated totals from the government’s monthly assault file to determine total assaults over the three-year period available, for every U.S. transit agency.<\/p>\n

To calculate Charlotte’s bus driver assault rate per 10 million passenger trips, McGlade divided the total number of assaults by the total number of passenger trips over that period and multiplied the result by 10 million. To get the national average, McGlade included only transit agencies that had at least 10 million passenger trips and only agencies that have the same reporting requirements as CATS. She then summed all assaults, divided that by the sum of all passenger trips and multiplied by 10 million. <\/p>\n

The passenger trips are “unlinked,” meaning they represent each time a passenger boards. Experts interviewed by McGlade recommended comparing the number of assaults to unlinked passenger trips for a comparable metric.<\/p>\n

NC Reality Check reflects the Charlotte Observer\u2019s commitment to holding those in power to account, shining a light on public issues that affect our local readers and illuminating the stories that set the Charlotte area and North Carolina apart. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@charlotteobserver.com<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Which Charlotte grocer has the cheapest store-brand guac? We checked (+ tasted)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Charlotte transit system CATS has struggled with driver safety for years. Some operators work in fear whether they\u2019ve been physically attacked or threatened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Charlotte transit system CATS has struggled with driver safety for years. Some operators work in fear whether they\u2019ve been physically attacked or threatened.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-02T12:07:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T12:07:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075\"},\"wordCount\":2698,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2f0d8c1615a735f40f4d315f40f3dd95.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075\",\"name\":\"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2f0d8c1615a735f40f4d315f40f3dd95.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-02T12:07:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2f0d8c1615a735f40f4d315f40f3dd95.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/2f0d8c1615a735f40f4d315f40f3dd95.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=1075#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"Charlotte transit system CATS has struggled with driver safety for years. Some operators work in fear whether they\u2019ve been physically attacked or threatened.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-06-02T12:07:39+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"13 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work","datePublished":"2026-06-02T12:07:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075"},"wordCount":2698,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2f0d8c1615a735f40f4d315f40f3dd95.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075","name":"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2f0d8c1615a735f40f4d315f40f3dd95.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-02T12:07:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2f0d8c1615a735f40f4d315f40f3dd95.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2f0d8c1615a735f40f4d315f40f3dd95.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1075#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Pray you make it home:\u2019 Why driving a CATS bus in Charlotte is dangerous work"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}