Charlottesville Area Transit (formerly Charlottesville Transit Service) is the provider of mass transportation in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

. The organization was formed in 1975 when the city bought out Yellow Transit Company, which held a private monopoly on city busing. In 1999, the agency took a big leap in terms of providing better service and gaining more ridership, establishing a free shuttle route (which is officially called a trolley, using green-painted trolley-style buses) connecting downtown with the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. In 2007, the University Transit Service and Charlottesville Area Transit entered into an open ridership agreement that allows UVA students, faculty, and staff to ride CAT for free by showing a valid UVA ID card. Eleven routes are offered Monday through Saturday from the early morning until the late evening. Sunday service is only available on the free trolley and Routes 2, 9, and 12.

Fares

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and funds provided by the American Rescue Plan and CARES Act, CAT operates fare-free. In December 2021, the City of Charlottesville announced that they received a grant from the

Commonwealth Transportation Board The Commonwealth Transportation Board, formerly the State Highway and Transportation Board, regulates and funds transportation in Virginia. It supervises the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), the Department of Rail and Public Transp ...

to continue fare-free service through June 2026.

Routes

Fleet Information

The fleet consists of the following vehicles (as of September 2018):

References

External links

Charlottesville Area Transit
1975 establishments in Virginia Transport companies established in 1975 1975 mergers and acquisitions Bus transportation in Virginia Transportation in Charlottesville, Virginia Transit agencies in Virginia {{Virginia-transport-stub