I'm a big fan of the light rail system. I just wish they could build it faster! Sometimes I catch myself just finding an excuse to ride the train into downtown. Sure it takes extra time to catch it... but it sure beats trying to find a parking deck, paying, road rage, etc.
My office use to me downtown so I would ride the express bus from Matthews in the mornings and afternoons. Man I miss it - having that extra 15-20min of sleeping time was great since the express buses are nice and plush. The way that CATS has the express buses set up is that it picks up its riders and then there's a straight shot downtown.
I've tried using the express buses in the mornings now, but my commute is 1hr if I do that (I have to make a connection in the downtown terminal). Still it beats driving though.
In my book, Charlotte has undergone many changes through the years and the transportation system is just one of the many "nice" features the city can be recognized for. Can't wait to see what the system looks like in 10-20 more years.