Charlottesville Area Transit

Charlottesville Area Transit

Founded	1975
Headquarters	1545 Avon Street Ext.
Locale	Charlottesville, Virginia
Service area	City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia
Service type	bus service
Routes	13
Fleet	36
Daily ridership	6,589
Fuel type	Diesel, Hybrid
Website	Charlottesville Area Transit

Charlottesville Area Transit (formerly Charlottesville Transit Service)^[1] is the provider of mass transportation in Charlottesville, Virginia. 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, as it established a free shuttle route (which is officially called a trolley, using green-painted trolley-style buses) connected downtown with the University of Virginia. In 2007, the University Transit Service and Charlottesville Area Transit entered into an open ridership agreement that allows UVA students, faculty, and staff ride CAT for free by showing a valid UVA ID card.^[2] 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.