As Mooresville’s 83x bus ends, CATS adds Exit 30 parking
Posted By David Boraks On December 21, 2010 @ 12:51 pm In Business,Cornelius,Downtown & old Davidson,Exit 30 area,Mooresville,Transportation | Comments Disabled
Map shows location of new commuter parking south of Davidson Clinic, off Exit 30.
By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net
With the Dec. 30 demise of Mooresville’s 83x commuter bus to Charlotte, area transit officials are planning for an influx of riders on the 77x bus, which runs to and from Davidson. Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is adding a park-and-ride location off I-77 Exit 30 to accommodate additional riders on the 77x.
Commuter parking spaces will be available on Lake Cornelius Boulevard and Davidson Gateway Drive, off Griffith Street behind the Davidson Clinic building. CATS said it plans to re-route the North Meck 77x bus to serve the new park and ride location during the morning and evening rush hours.
Existing stops and park-and-ride areas, including along Griffith Street near Sadler Square shopping center, will remain in use.
Mooresville’s town board voted in October to end the town’s $25,208 subsidy for the 83x, which transported commuters from Mooresville to Charlotte in the mornings and back to Mooresville in the evenings.
The 83x has carried 120 riders a day – 60 inbound and 60 outbound passengers. CATS believes about two-thirds will ride the 77x from Davidson, spokeswoman Azania Z. Herron said Monday.
The 77x currently makes 14 morning rush-hour trips between 5:30 and 9 a.m. and 13 return trips during afternoon rush hour from 3 to 6:30 p.m. The bus also runs less frequently during the day. (See a schedule, CLICK HERE>) It averages 702 daily riders on weekdays.
The streets – Lake Cornelius Boulevard, Gateway Crossing Drive and Davidson Gateway Drive – surround a vacant lot behind the Davidson Clinic. Davidson Economic Development Manager Kris Krider said CATS approached the town about four to six weeks ago seeking potential sites for a new park-and-ride lot.
“We brainstormed, and came up with two or three different alternatives,” Mr. Krider said. “They really liked to this one because of access to the interstate. And it doesn’t have a negative impact on downtown.”
If the location proves popular, CATS may be able to expand it, as well, Mr. Krider said. He hoped the potential addition of commuters to the area might have a side benefit of helping retail businesses in the area, including the Rusher Market and gas station, which will open early in the new year at Davidson Gateway Drive and Griffith Street.
CATS and the town are discussing possible improvements to the streets, including painting parking stripes where needed and installing a bus shelter.
Mr. Krider said there’s no formal written agreement with CATS, since the park-and-ride uses only public streets.
CATS POSTS HOLIDAY SCHEDULE
SOURCE: Charlotte Area Transit System
On Friday, December 24, 2010 the Charlotte Area Transit System will operate buses and trains according to its Saturday schedule in observance of the Christmas Eve holiday. No express service will operate on that day except for 79X Concord Mills Express which will operate according to its regular Saturday schedule.
On Saturday, December 25, 2010 the Charlotte Area Transit System will operate buses and trains according to its Sunday schedule in observance of the Christmas Day holiday.
On Friday, December 24th and Saturday, December 25th, CATS Pass Sales offices at the CTC and the CATS Call Center will be closed. On Monday, December 27th, the CATS call center and pass sales offices will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
On Friday, December 31, 2010 the Charlotte Area Transit System will operate buses and trains according to its Saturday schedule in observance of the New Year’s Eve holiday. No express service will operate on that day except for 79X Concord Mills Express which will operate according to its regular Saturday schedule. The last buses (select routes only) and the LYNX Blue Line light rail service will depart from the Charlotte Transportation Center at 1:30 a.m. in support of First Night activities in Uptown.
On Friday, December 31st and Saturday, January 1st, CATS Pass Sales offices at the CTC and the CATS Call Center will be closed in observance of the holiday.
Also on December 31, 2010, extra trips will operate on the LYNX Blue Line light rail system to provide service to fans attending the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Service will run approximately every ten minutes before the game, and extra trains will be ready to take fans back to their cars after the game.
On Saturday, January 1, 2011 the Charlotte Area Transit System will operate buses and trains according to its Sunday schedule in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday.
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Comments Disabled To "As Mooresville’s 83x bus ends, CATS adds Exit 30 parking"
#1 Comment By Rick Short On December 22, 2010 @ 6:10 pm
David, Any information available on exactly how CATS will re-route the 77x?
If the expected Exit-30 Griffith St riders from Mooresville will have to ride all the way down through Davidson and Cornelius, most will just drive down to Exit 25 as it will be quicker door-to-door. At least, that’s what I’ve been told by someone who rides the 83x daily now. There are multiple ways they could alter the route, but most would probably inconvenience the Cornelius riders north of Exit 25 from what they have today.
Regardless, it seems like a sensible move as long as the incremental cost to CATS is negligible – seeing as they are broke.
#2 Comment By David Boraks On December 22, 2010 @ 6:25 pm
The re-routing CATS is talking about is mainly to hit the new parking area. I’m told the bus would likely head down Davidson Gateway to Jetton Street, then Jetton back to Griffith Street, where it would be back on its current route. Yes, any riders parked at Exit 30 would have to take the bus down through Cornelius.
Kris Krider said he thinks it might make sense to cut out the Exit 25 park-and-ride stop (it’s served by other buses, too, he says) to get the bus more quickly to Charlotte. That would especially make sense, he said, if the bus is full by the time it hits Exit 25. But that’s just an idea at this point.
#3 Comment By Rick Short On December 22, 2010 @ 8:37 pm
As a daily rider of 77x from Davidson or Cornelius, I’d say at least 50%-75% of that route’s ridership gets on at Exit 25, not further north. Also, the 77x park and ride at Exit 25 is not the same one as the 48x which also stops at that exit.
It seems to me that a better idea would be to add a bus to the 48x route and extend that route to stop at only exit 30 after the exit 25 stop. That would make that route much more attractive to people in Davidson and southern Iredell because it would be much quicker door-2-door.
Of course, if it costs more which it probably would, then that’s not a workable idea either see that CATS is broke.