Our friend over at the Thoreau Institute—The Antiplanner—-analyzes the “nightmare” that was the 2017 Year in Transit. Look who makes an appearance:

Charlotte, supposedly a light-rail success story, saw October ridership fall by a staggering 17.5 percent from the previous October, contributing to a 9.0 percent decline in the year to date. October ridership fell by 14.2 percent in Cleveland, 13.0 percent in Sacramento, and 10.4 percent in Milwaukee. Although the American Public Transportation Association claims that top transit officials aren’t much worried about recent ridership declines, they should be, especially if they are from one of these cities.

Charlotte leaders know this and make excuses for the weak (to say the least) ridership numbers. And so they double down with plans for more lines that would converge into a downtown “rail tunnel” with a nice little $1 billion price tag.