The Memphis Area Transit Authority’s leadership contributed to a majority of missed trips last year by removing routes from its published schedule. Interim CEO and TransPro consultant John Lewis called the move a “deliberate” decision by previous management to “mask service cuts from the public.”
This information was revealed during the Interim CEO report at the March 7th Board of Commissioners meeting. Officials said the schedule deletions had been going on “as far back as April of last year (2024).”
“We knew we weren’t delivering 20 percent of the published schedule,” an official said during the meeting.
With customer satisfaction being touted as a priority, officials are now working to improve their on-time performance (OTP). They reported 64 percent of buses arrived “between one minute early and 5 minutes late” in January 2025.
Those numbers exclude the 29 percent of missed trips — which the agency said are trips that were never completed. Leadership went on to say in order for the schedule to be “executed,” drivers are able to pick their routes, but MATA leadership took 20 percent of the rides off of the published schedule.
“Even in a universe where we have buses and spares and operators we know are ready and willing to drive, we could not have delivered that because those weren’t available routes to drive,” the official said. “We never had a chance to perform them.
Lewis added that any schedule changes are subject to board approval.
“I’m mad as hell after hearing this,” Commissioner Cynthia Bailey said. “So, all this time they was violating and had the customers acting [a] ass here, it was their fault, or it never came out? So they was giving false information to the customers? I’m mad as hell.”
Lewis said they are “pursuing consequences” to the individuals who had knowledge of the schedule changes, and they are further investigating the issue.
“I have long stated that MATA had a priority problem and MATA was [more] concerned about the administration than the ridership,” said Johnnie Mosley, founding chairman of Citizens for Better Service. “Memphis must demand that MATA do right by bus riders. Bus riders have suffered too long as a result of lack of leadership.”
One of the key points that officials have tried to improve is the city’s trust in MATA — specifically as stewards of public funds. Leadership pointed to a September 2024 survey of 388 Memphians in which only 26 percent of responders said they deemed the agency trustworthy of taxpayer’s dollars.
“Over time, and with proper financial governance and transparency, the team will strive to improve the community’s faith in MATA,” officials said during a presentation at the meeting.
Lewis said TransPro performed a “preliminary review of FY24 General Administrative expenses,” which showed that out of $9.9 million, $848,000 was spent in discretionary spending. This included $603,000 in sponsorship of the Memphis Grizzlies and $144,000 in “other AMEX purchases.”
Officials said this did not include charges for travel and meetings.
“We asked for detailed statements of that, had to do some digging with American Express — the agency at the time did not have itemized monthly bills, which was not a best practice to say the least,” Lewis said. “After we received itemized statements going back the last couple of years, we found within those purchases, seemingly non-business-related purchases.”
Lewis said these included $5,000 in payments via PayPal and Venmo, $7,000 in purchases at BestBuy, $10,000 in party equipment rental, $30,000 in customizable purchases, and $1,200 in Montblanc purchases to name a few.
“These don’t seem to be necessarily transit related,” Lewis said.
He went on to say they brought this to the attention of the city auditor, and as a result the state comptroller has been notified. Lewis and his team has been advised to seek outside counsel for a more thorough investigation.
The former leadership that had possession of the AMEX card has been placed on administrative leave, officials said.
The agency’s Board of Commissioners in conjunction with leadership have established that their main expectations are to enhance customer service, provide financial transparency, develop “public facing metrics,” and increase bus route coverage and frequency.
MATA hopes these outcomes will result in improved trust in the community and satisfied customers, and optimization of the city’s investment. In terms of financials, the agency hopes to provide a balanced budget with “operating expenses [being] less than or equal to available revenue.”
