CATS Employees Speak Out To City Council Demanding More Safety Protocols

CHARLOTTE, NC. — CATS bus operators are coming together and demanding change. They are fed up angry, and they’re afraid for their safety.

“The drivers are afraid. They’re afraid while they’re at work. They’re afraid of losing their jobs. Retaliation just to stand up for their own safety,” says bus operator Renee Holzbach.

During the public forum Monday night, Holzbach told city council members she’d been assaulted while working and even had her nose broken. One of Holzbach’s colleagues, 41-year-old Ethan Rivera, died on the job earlier this month. Police say road rage Led someone in an SUV to pull up to the bus and fire shots. The suspect, 21-year-old Darian Thavychith, is still on the run.

CATS employees want bulletproof partitions installed on all buses and security on all bus routes. They also want cats CEO John Lewis to call an emergency meeting and address their concerns, and employees say all buses should have working phones.

CATS CEO John Lewis released a statement on Friday addressing safety concerns:

“Our team is working closely with the SMART labor union to create solutions that address workplace safety concerns. Most recently, CATS conducted an audit of the entire bus fleet and replaced 11 defective radios.”

Gina Lockhart is a CATS bus operator. She says she, too, has been assaulted while on the job.

“We are all under mental distress. I’ve been here eight years; I never would’ve thought that I would have to say rest in peace to a coworker that was shot brutally in the streets of Charlotte while doing the job that we do every single day,” Lockhart says.