CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  Microtransit, a type of on-demand public transportation, keeps popping up in cities across North Carolina.


What You Need To Know

  • The SouthPark Skipper is a free on-demand shuttle service that can be requested using a phone application
  • Gastonia, Wilson, Morrisville and Charlotte are among the cities launching microtransit services
  • The service works like a rideshare where customers can book rides online, get picked up at their location and be taken anywhere within a designated area

In November 2024, SouthPark Community Partners launched the SouthPark Skipper, a door-to-door ride service offering free rides within the SouthPark neighborhood in Charlotte.

“[It gives people] the ability to get people from their office to a restaurant, from their hotel to shopping,” said SouthPark Community Partners President and CEO, Adam Rhew. “To be able to serve residents who live in SouthPark, to connect them to basic services like the grocery store or the doctor.”

Rhew, who grew up in the SouthPark area, is playing a key role in shaping the neighborhood’s next chapter of growth.

“We talk a lot about SouthPark evolving into a walkable neighborhood,” Rhew said. “A place where you can use different modes of transportation to get around.”

The SouthPark Skipper is a free on-demand microtransit service that can be requested using a phone app, like other rideshare companies. Within minutes, a driver in a Tesla vehicle will arrive at the rider’s location and take them anywhere withing a designated area around the neighborhood.

“We looked to our peer cities, to our competitors and part of our job is to learn from lessons in other communities and to take that lesson back and apply to the context of Charlotte,” Rhew said.

In July 2024, the city of Gastonia replaced its entire public bus fleet with microtransit.

Wilson and Morrisville are utilizing it as well.

And in February, the Charlotte Area Transit System is launching CATS Micro, which will serve areas in the northern part of Mecklenburg County.

Christopher Lawing, a manager at Jesse Brown’s Outdoors in SouthPark, says he’s seen an increase in customers coming in thanks to the Skipper.

“We’ve seen people using the service from all throughout the district,” Lawing said. “And it’s been wonderful to be able to see it bring the community together, and businesses, and especially at the holiday season.”

As the city of Charlotte continues work on expanding ways to get around without a car, Rhew says the SouthPark Skipper isn’t meant to replace public transit.

Rather, it’s meant to add another mode of transportation for people visiting, working or living in SouthPark.

“All of those things have to work together in order for people to move around our community successfully,” Rhew said. “And so, we wanted to pilot this program to prove the concept and to show people that micro transit is a viable piece of the puzzle as we think about the bigger transit picture in our community.”                 

As of January 2024, Rhew says more than 7,000 riders have used the service, with an average wait time of just under eight minutes.

Right now, SouthPark Community Partners is fully funding the pilot program, but Rhew says they may look into a partnership down the line. And because of its popularity so far, they’re also looking into expanding the hours and service area.