CATS plans alternative transit study

The Capital Area Transit System plans to use $2.1 million in federal money to fund a comprehensive analysis of the transit system, which would include a look at the possibility of bus rapid transit, a higher-speed method of bus travel using dedicated lanes. CATS general manager Carol Cranshaw says the study should begin in December and take about 18 months. CATS also plans to use $6.6 million in federal stimulus money to purchase six low-sulfur diesel buses and three trolleys to replace the ones downtown that “all died just about simultaneously,” Cranshaw says. It will take up to 16 months to get the new trolleys. CATS has narrowed its CEO search down to four candidates, she says.—David Jacobs