If you ride a Charlottesville Area Transit bus this month, someone may ask you some questions in an official capacity.
“Questions will include where passengers boarded, where they plan to exit, and whether they will transfer to another CAT route or transit service,” reads an information release announcing the survey.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic led to a lockdown in 2020, CAT has been fare-free. That has meant that certain data is no longer collected though the farebox such as whether a rider transferred to a second route. The system has used automatic passenger counters for a few years, but that does not provide that information.
“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 release continues.
The survey is being conducted with assistance from urban planning graduate students at the University of Virginia as part of a capstone project
For more information, take a look at CAT’s website.
Before you go: The goal of Town Crier Productions is to increase awareness about what is happening at the local, regional, state, and federal government levels. Please share the work with others if you want people to know things. Paid subscribers cover the cost of conducting research for this article which was originally published in the March 11, 2026 edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. You can either subscribe through Substack or make a charitable contribution.
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