Officials detail plans to improve Mecklenburg County bus stops, but they need a one-cent sales tax to do it
MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Charlotte transportation officials want to improve the 2,000 bus stops across Mecklenburg County. It's one of many points of a project they're working on to improve transportation in communities like Mountain Island Lake.
'As I told you earlier, when I got here in 1981, getting around was pretty easy… Now it's not,' said city council member Malcolm Graham. He was addressing constituents during a town hall in the Mountain Island Lake community.
He and other city leaders are working to change that, especially in communities well away from Uptown.
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Neighbors heard new details about a mobility project that would improve how easily they might get around over the next 30 years.
It's largely centered around a proposed one-cent sales tax.
'This new funding would allow the transit system to essentially double the frequency of our highest ridership routes. There are about 3 or 4 of those in this part of Charlotte, where you would go from. Some of these are 45-minute frequency routes that would go to a 15-minute service,' said the city's strategic mobility planner Ed McKinney.
That would be the same number of times a train comes on the Blue Line.
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If the one-cent sales tax is passed, officials would also improve hundreds of bus stops across Mecklenburg County — building shelters and seating for waiting riders. McKinney says it would bring dignity to riders.
The biggest addition would be microtransit, an Uber-style way to get around smaller neighborhoods like Mountain Island Lake — for the same cost as a bus ride.
That makes Linda and Horatius Green happy.
'That sold me…the micro-transit…they could have five cents from me. If I could get a little Uber car just to pick me up and take me from point A to point B,' Linda said.
A recent accident took away her sight, restricting her ability to drive. She leans on her husband of 45 years to help her get around. She says a cheaper way to move around would work wonders in her life.
Mecklenburg County leaders discuss transportation improvements and possible expansions
'I'd like to hear a little bit more about it, but I think it's at one cent, it seems to be something that is very doable, especially if it's going to provide the type of transportation that is being presented,' Horatius said.
The couple was pleased to hear of the upcoming improvements in the area.
They were looking to hear about streetlighting in the neighborhood and how certain intersections could be upgraded with traffic lights and sidewalks to reduce car and pedestrian accidents near Rhyne Road and Mount Holly.
The Greens are hoping that traffic congestion will improve once the infrastructure is upgraded.
'The questions of many people were answered. I thought it was engaging. And I saw some things that I hope can be sped up a little bit, although I knew they had the planning process, and they have to do things in a particular way,' Horatius said.
Officials say if the sales tax isn't approved in November, transit will stay the way it is.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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They barely show up on the list ownership is under %. Some might side-eye that, but honestly, for a company at this scale, it's not unusual. Founders move on, execs get paid in options, and the rest is in institutional hands. What's important is this: when most of your shareholder base is made up of long-term money, volatility stays in check. It also sends a pretty strong message Wall Street thinks Uber still has legs. As of today (May 27, 2025), Uber's market cap stands at $183.50 billion. With 171 million monthly active users, that means investors are effectively paying around $1,073 per user. This per-user pricing becomes compelling when you consider Uber's brand loyalty and platform utility many users wouldn't give up Uber for $1,000. That says something about stickiness. So how does Uber stack up to competitors? Lyft is cheaper on a sales basis but remains unprofitable. Grab trades at a steep premium despite losses, while Didi is leaner but locked in China. Uber, on the other hand, is the only player posting positive free cash flow, sustainable margins, and global diversification. It trades at just 22x FCF historically low for the company and analysts expect free cash flow to rise over 25% annually. Even modest multiple expansion could lift its valuation significantly. Bottom line: Uber's premium is backed by real cash, real users, and real operating leverage. Here's something most people don't realize Uber still owns a chunk of Didi, around 10%. So even though they're not battling it out in China anymore, they're still along for the ride. And Didi's no slouch. They've got about $7 billion stashed away that's nearly a third of their market cap just sitting in cash, ready to go. Lately, they've been pushing into food delivery too, which could heat things up if Uber ever circles back to that part of the world. What's wild is how the Chinese regulators are actually helping Didi lock things down. They've cleared the field, knocked out rivals, and basically handed them the keys. That kind of home-turf dominance? It makes Didi a serious long-game player and, oddly enough, a pretty strategic card in Uber's back pocket. Then there's Lyft. It's holding on to roughly a third of the U.S. ride-share market. Lately, they've been playing the pricing game slashing fares, making it cheaper for riders, and tougher for Uber to hold onto its margins. Classic race to the bottom stuff. We've seen this before. And you can't ignore Grab. They're a different beast. Not just rides they've got payments, food, and banking all in one place. Kind of like Uber, DoorDash, and your mobile wallet, rolled together. They've locked down Southeast Asia in a big way. All this means Uber's not exactly free to expand wherever it wants. The pressure from competitors doesn't just limit growth it also messes with pricing. If one of these rivals gets leaner or smarter, Uber's lead could start to slip. One useful lens for comparing these platforms is their take rate the slice of gross bookings or merchandise value they convert into revenue. For Uber, the math is straightforward: about $11.5 billion in revenue from $42.8 billion in gross bookings puts the take rate around 27%. That's on the higher end. Grab, by contrast, turned $4.93 billion in GMV into $773 million in revenue, landing at roughly 15.7%. Didi came in at about 18.5% based on its reported RMB19.1 billion in platform sales from RMB103.2 billion in transaction volume. So what does this actually tell us? Simply put, Uber is getting more out of each dollar that moves through its platform. That kind of monetization efficiency can be a real asset especially when you factor in how slim margins can get in competitive pricing environments. A higher take rate often leaves more room to absorb rising driver costs or fund expansion without immediately eating into profits. Uber's Q1 call reiterated confidence but risks still loom. 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But with rising hardware costs and uneven regulatory paths, AV commercialization is still a long game. Put together: Uber's growth is real, but so are the lawsuits, legislative risks, and cyclical pressures. Uber's ride from scrappy startup to global mobility titan is nothing short of remarkable. It's hitting record highs in revenue, profitability, and user engagement. It's also sitting on billions in free cash flow, flexing institutional confidence, and repurchasing shares a sign that even the company believes it's undervalued. But this isn't a carefree cruise. Regulatory risks, pricing pressures, and legal challenges (like the FTC suit) aren't going away. Yet, with stronger-than-ever unit economics, a sticky user base, and real cash flow, Uber seems built for endurance. For investors with a moderate risk appetite and long-term view, Uber may still be a high-conviction bet and the Q1 results reinforce that case. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. 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