Throughout the month of March, Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) is surveying transit riders to better understand the transit system and guide improvements during the agency’s annual and long-term planning.

Logo reads "Short & Important"

According to a news release from the City of Charlottesville, surveyors will ride select transit routes during peak hours and ask riders about their experiences. Their brief questions will focus on where the riders boarded, where they plan to get off and whether they are transferring to another route. No personal identifiers will be required.

“As CAT continues to grow and evolve, understanding how riders move through the system is essential to improving route efficiency, protecting key transfer locations, and strengthening connections across the network,” the news release said.

The survey is being conducted in a partnership between the city of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia to collect data on where transit riders switch lines and how to protect these key connections. It will help to fill the data gap that emerged in 2020, when CAT started to offer its services for free with the help of funding from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. Because of the change, farebox data is no longer available to track how riders switch between lines.

Take action

Participate in a survey about how you use Charlottesville Area Transit

Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) users have a chance to help CAT plan for its future. During the month of March, surveyors from the University of Virginia, in collaboration with the City of Charlottesville, will approach CAT riders during peak hours to ask them about where they boarded, where they will get off, and whether they had to switch between routes.

To help, all you need to do is participate if approached during your commute.

The collected information will help CAT gain a better picture of how riders are using the transit system, and how to improve the experience and meet the community’s needs. Participation is optional, and no personal identifiers are required. For more information, see Charlottesville’s web page about the survey.

While we can’t cover every story that’s important to you, we do our best to be responsive to your needs. We use tips from readers to choose which stories to cover, to incorporate information into broader reports or to help us decide how to grow Charlottesville Tomorrow. Here’s where you can tell us what you think we should be covering.

More local News

I'm Charlottesville Tomorrow's public health and safety reporter. You can catch me by email or on Facebook — I hear that's what the cool kids use these days. Let's chat!