Getting around Charlotte

Public transport

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS), run by the City of Charlotte, operates:

• the LYNX light rail
• the CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar
• local and express bus routes
• CATS Micro, an on-demand shared-ride service
• Special Transportation Service (STS), paratransit for people with disabilities
• a vanpool programme

CATS marks fifty years of public transit in Charlotte in 2026.

On fares: we are not going to quote you a number. A Fare Modernization Program was under way when we last checked, which means any figure printed here would be out of date before you read it. Buy through CATS directly and check the current fare there.

The light rail

The LYNX Blue Line runs north–south through the city, linking the southern suburbs to Uptown and on to the UNC Charlotte campus. If you are staying in Uptown, South End or University City, it will take you to a great deal of what you came for — including NoDa, which has stations at 36th Street and 25th Street.

The CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar runs through the centre.

Verification note for the editor: the line length, station count and opening dates in the research library come from an index source and must be confirmed against CATS before this paragraph is published with any numbers in it.

The airport

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is west of the city. Its own site publishes flight, parking, shops and services information, along with bus wait times. Check there for current ground-transport arrangements rather than relying on anything printed elsewhere.

On foot and by bike

Two things make Charlotte better on foot than its reputation suggests.

The first is the greenway network — 85.5 miles of greenway trail as of March 2026, generally twelve feet wide and paved, operating around the clock because the county treats them as transport rather than recreation. Little Sugar Creek Greenway alone runs roughly seventeen miles from NoDa to the South Carolina line.

The second is the Uptown CycleLink, a protected two-way cycle and e-scooter route running about 1.9 miles across the centre of Uptown, mostly along 6th Street, separated from traffic by curbing. It connects Little Sugar Creek Greenway at 7th Street to Irwin Creek Greenway at 5th Street and meets the Charlotte Rail Trail in the middle, which means you can cross the whole city centre between two greenway systems without joining traffic.

Two cautions on the CycleLink, both from the trail manager's own record: it is rated moderate to advanced, and dogs are not permitted. It is a cycling facility, not a stroll.

Parking

Not researched. We would rather say that than guess.