Lynx Rapid Transit Services

Lynx Rapid Transit Services (styled corporately as LYNX Rapid Transit Services) comprises a light rail line serviced by the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It commenced service on November 24, 2007, and runs through Uptown and South End, before paralleling South Boulevard to its southern terminus just north of Interstate 485 at the Pineville city limits. There are 15 stations in the system, which carries an average of over 21,000 passenger trips every day.

The idea of light rail in Charlotte was initially proposed in the mid-1980s, with the Mecklenburg voters approving a one-half cent sales tax to finance its construction in 1998. The construction of Lynx has resulted in controversy regarding its costs and benefits culminating in an unsuccessful 2007 referendum to repeal the transit tax. Presently, future expansion includes plans for light rail, commuter rail, streetcars and bus rapid transit along the five corridors in the 2030 Transit Corridor System Plan adopted in 2006 by Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC). Build-out of the entire system is presently estimated for completion by 2034.

History

By the mid-1980s, strategies by which to both control and focus the region's growing population and expanding development were being evaluated by city and county planners. One strategy discussed was the construction of light rail to encourage new businesses and housing along its...
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