CHARLOTTE — Every day, thousands of people come to the Charlotte Transportation Center, and the vast majority of them get to and from their destination safely.
But in the past few months, there have been some notable exceptions.
On Feb. 20, Leashan McBeath was stabbed to death near the light rail. Six weeks later, Qualo Daniels was shot and killed near the same location.
This week, Channel’s Glenn Counts spoke with Brent Cagle, the interim CEO of CATS. He said he doesn’t believe the violence has been random.
“So as we think about moving forward, our focus is on really providing a safe and secure, better experience for our riders and our operations at the transit center,” said Cagle.
However, some riders have said they don’t feel safe at the transit center.
“Lately, it’s a lot. You have to definitely come down here with somebody, especially if you are a female,” said passenger Armani Espino.
Some drivers have also expressed that they think the security officers have not been as visible as they used to be. So, there is not the same level of deterrence.
When asked if the profile has changed, Cagle said, “No, absolutely not. Our security contractor is PSS; they are a local company. We feel really strong and good about our relationship with them.”
Cagle went on to say that he wanted to reassure passengers that the transit center is safe.
“I’d say, look, we understand that these kinds of things happen from time to time. But they should understand that working together with our security contractor, we feel like we have a great plan,” Cagle said.
Cagle said while staffing has been a challenge for the security company, he believes they are making progress.
Though some drivers aren’t so sure, and they think progress can’t come soon enough.
VIDEO: Activists, local leaders, ride on CATS buses speaking with residents about necessary safety changes
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