At the Bus Stop: Waiting on the Bus

As we examine transit in Matthews, there is a lot of overlap with the comprehensive work of Sustain Charlotte. While their focus is on Charlotte itself, Matthews can benefit from some of their approaches.

One Sustain Charlotte activity, Walk2Transit, is a simple bus stop audit. Walk2Transit provides a method of grading bus stops from various perspectives (such as ease of getting to the stop, comfort while waiting on the bus, etc.) aids in better design of future stops. According to Meg Fencil, Sustain Charlotte Program Director, “80% of ‘all-purpose’ riders reach their bus stops on foot. If we want more people to choose to ride transit, they need to feel safe and comfortable walking to and from bus stops.“

Although photos only provide limited information, below are a few of the bus stops in Matthews. How would they score on a Walk2Transit audit? Which stops feel well designed? Which could use improvement? Does a comfortable bus stop encourage greater public transit use?

At the Bus Stop: Understanding Public Transit in Matthews

Park and Ride center at Indpendence Pointe Parkway.

The average commute time for a Matthews resident is 27.9 minutes. With a healthy economy and relatively inexpensive gas prices, it’s common to find one person per car commuters. There are, however, less stressful ways to get around. Public transportation is one such way.

Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) runs the public transportation program for the greater Charlotte area. With more than 70 routes, CATS links Uptown Charlotte to the suburbs seven days a week. Below are routes connecting to Matthews.

27 Monroe Road, runs from Uptown Charlotte down John Street in Matthews, on down Trade to loop around at Target.

51 Pineville-Matthews Road runs the length of Pineville-Matthews to the Independence Pointe Parkway Park and Ride. This route also provides service to the Levine Campus of CPCC.

52x Idlewild Road Express runs Independence to the northern most corner of Matthews, at Idlewild Road and Margaret Wallace (this stop is on the Charlotte Side of Idlewild).

64x Independence Blvd. Express, an express bus that runs down Independence to Matthews and back to Uptown.

65x Matthews Express, which runs from Uptown, down John to Trade, up Independence Pointe Parkway (at Target) and down Sam Newell to Independence Pointe Parkway.

Bus stop on Trade Street in downtown Matthews.

Morning Minute: Monday, January 14, 2019

News About Town:  Matthews Police officers Detective Chris Duryee and Officer Dustin Ay work hard for the Town. After completing more than 900 hours of continuing education both men received their Advanced Law Enforcement Certificates. 

Photo courtesy Matthews Police Department

News Around Town:  The Federal Transit Authority awarded The City of Charlotte a $920,000 grant for planning the proposed LYNX Silver Line. The Silver Line, a CATS project, is a light rail extension from Gaston County through Matthews to Union County. The budget for the total project is expected to be $1 billion.

One Fun Thing:  There are just a few more days to check out “Christmas Past” at the Matthews Heritage Museum. The show of early- to mid-century Christmas decor runs through January 19.

#ThrowbackThursday: May 17, 2007

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YIKES! How embarrassing, we made a mistake in the newsletter. If you’re here to learn about the Yarn Crafters, please click here!

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With permission, The Beacon is archiving past issues of Matthews Record (also called Matthews News and Record and The Matthews Record) articles online. Throwback Thursday articles will include relevant content still facing Matthews today. This article was originally published May 17, 2007 and was written by Janet Denk.

Matthews wrapped up bike week with several events around town. The success of the event came from the town’s involvement. From discounts at local businesses, just by showing a helmet, to free rides on CATS buses if you parked your bike on the bus rack. There were bike maintenance clinics, bike sales and rides. The week’s events concluded with the Mayor’s Ride through Stumptown Park just in time to enjoy pre-movie activities at the showing of “Cars” as part of the Night Live Outdoor Summer Series. ~JD