ATLANTA (November 25, 2025) — Today, Sen. Derek Mallow (D–Savannah) released the following statement on the dispute between Chatham Area Transit Authority (CAT) and the Chatham County Board of Commissioners:
“I urge our community leaders to come together and work toward a comprehensive solution. The future of our city and county depends on our local leadership resolving their differences to better support the people they serve.
Public transit is essential to protect the economic development of a growing city like Savannah. Mass transit interruptions across the Savannah metro and Chatham County will make it more difficult for citizens to commute and provide for themselves. Our tourism industry suffers, too, when we are forced to turn visitors away due to a lack of readily accessible public transportation.
Dr. King put it best: ‘All mankind is tied together, all life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.’ We may not agree on everything, but we should all affirm that the riders of CAT do not deserve to be caught in the middle of political discourse.
Recently, Commission Chairman Ellis notified the CAT board that the county will withdraw from the system at the end of the current fiscal year. If CAT loses an important source of funding, hardworking Georgians will be left without a readily accessible mode of transportation to feed their families, commute to work and regularly attend doctors’ appointments. We owe it to them to come to the table in good faith and find common ground to best serve our citizens.”
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Sen. Derek Mallow serves as Chief Deputy Whip for the Senate Minority Caucus. He represents the 2nd Senate District, which includes a portion of Chatham County. He may be reached by phone at (404) 656-7586 or by email at Derek.Mallow@senate.ga.gov.
For all media inquiries, please reach out to SenatePressInquiries@senate.ga.gov.