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MATA Announces Termination of Former Interim CEO

Bacarra Mauldin, former interim CEO of the Memphis Area Transit Authority, has been fired by the agency. The decision was made by acting CEO of John Lewis and backed by MATA’s board of commissioners.

“This action follows an internal investigation which concluded that Ms. Mauldin violated MATA’s Procurement and Travel Policy, and did not take sufficient steps to ensure compliance among her direct reports,” a statement from the agency said.  “These findings represent a serious breach of the standards and expectations we uphold for all MATA leadership and staff.”

Earlier this month, officials revealed that  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. 

He added that  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. 

At the time, officials said “the former leadership that had possession of the AMEX card has been placed on administrative leave.”

“While personnel matters are typically confidential, we acknowledge the public interest in this situation, given the leadership role involved,” MATA said in a statement. “ Our focus moving forward is to ensure stability, restore trust, and continue providing safe, reliable, and equitable transit services for the people of Memphis.”

Mauldin was named interim CEO following the retirement of former CEO Gary Rosenfeld in February 2024.

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News News Blog News Feature

MATA Officials Reveal Reason For Missed Bus Routes

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.”

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Opinion The Last Word

Memphis Is My Boyfriend: End of Summer Blues

Summer break is over, and no one is particularly happy about it. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have time to still do something meaningful with your tweens and teens before homework starts rolling in.

Wonky’s Not So Famous Treats

We decided to surprise our kids with a “candy tasting.” Imagine if you went to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. You’d probably see treats of all shapes and sizes. Displays where everything is edible. Color-changing drinks. Chocolate in the form of solids, liquids, and everything in between. You might even battle some evil sea creature that’s made entirely from candy.

Actually, I’m describing our experience at Wonky’s Not So Famous Treats! This was the most amazing experience with the coolest aesthetics. We all enjoyed the ocean decor and the jellyfish hanging from the ceiling. The kids enjoyed discovering all the edible items on the dessert platter. Those sweet and creative treats were mind-blowing. The kids sampled the tentacle twizzlers, chocolate rocks, gushy eyeballs, delicious cheesecake, and so much more. And Wonky’s offered a variety of flavors and textures: chewy, crunchy, chocolaty, fruity, sour, creamy, cold, gummy, and tarty. Oh, and the adult drinks were on point.

Final Summer Curriculum Update

Our kids finally rode the MATA bus, and the experience did not disappoint! We started off by giving them a bus schedule and explaining to them that they were to ride the bus from our community to Downtown. Together, they researched what the Downtown terminal looks like so they would know it when they got off. They also familiarized themselves with the names of major streets they would encounter. We gave each child a dollar for the bus fare and dropped them off. 

Midway through their bus ride, we texted the kids and asked them how it was going. When they replied that they were bored, hubby and I decided to offer extra credit: “Great!!! Here’s your mandatory extra credit. After exiting the bus, you must get on the trolley and use ‘Find My’ to locate us. We will be on South Main.”

The kids loved the challenge, but it soon appeared that they were in over their heads. Ten minutes later, the kids called us. “Mom,” they said, “we got off too early. We don’t know exactly where we are.” I took a deep breath and replied, “You have all the technology you need at your fingertips. Figure out where you are and the distance to where you should be.” (Don’t worry, I knew exactly where they were.) Within minutes, they called back and said that they were a block from the terminal and were headed for the trolley. They used “Find My” to locate us and rode the trolley to our exact location.

Here are the kids’ experiences in their own words:

16-year-old: I liked when the bus took off, but soon it was meh.

12-year-old: It was fun at first, but the smell was odd. 

12-year-old: When you first get on, it’s fun! But when strangers started coming on and talking weirdly, it got awkward. 

10-year-old: The ride was really bumpy and a little scary for me!

School-Year Prep

You might not be ready for school, but school is ready for you! Here are a few tips:

• If you have a teenaged daughter, make sure she keeps a “period pack” at school. This should consist of a few pads and wipes as well as a clean pair of underwear and school appropriate pants. (Because accidents do happen.)

• Assign each teenager a laundry day. On that day, their laundry must be washed, dried, folded, or hung up.

• Remind the kids of the difference between the school’s grading scale and your grading scale. (A 70 is still a D to me.)

• Create a school supply stash. Yes, you’re going to spend hundreds of dollars on school supplies. And yes, by October your child is still going to need something. 

• Keep at least $40 in ones at home. Nothing is worse than finding out at the last minute that you need $13 for a field trip. (Schools are not at liberty to give change for $20 and there’s too much to do in the morning to stop for cash.)

• Backpacks must be packed the night before.

Tips from teenagers to teenagers

• Complete your assignments as soon as you get them. 

• Use your time after school wisely.

• A friend who is mean to other people is not your friend.

• Get your clothes ready the night before.

• Charge your school device.

• Don’t skip first or second breakfast.

• Always carry deodorant. Always.

• Never tell anyone your locker combination.

• Structure is your friend.

Also … my eldest got a 28 on the ACT! #proudparent. 

Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. @realworkwife @memphisismyboyfriend