MATA problems – Memphis Flyer

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is undergoing significant change following the release of a draft report from TransPro, a transportation consulting organization.

MATA has replaced its entire board of commissioners under the direction of Memphis Mayor Paul Young, and the mayor is also urging the agency to delay service changes and cuts. While these measures are taking place in order to ensure the viability of the agency, transportation advocates are unsure that MATA can implement these changes without proper funding.

Better Transit For A Better Memphis (BTBM), a coalition founded by Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH) and Sierra Club Chickasaw Group, said these changes are a “temporary win” but found the decision to continue current service is “unrealistic.”

“Years of underfunding have left MATA without enough buses to meet even the existing, limited schedule. Interim MATA CEO Bacarra Mauldin has been scrambling to secure more buses, but 151 of the fleet’s vehicles require repairs and the wait time for a new bus can be up to a year,” BTBM said in a statement. “Regardless, MATA lacks the funds to purchase parts and supplies or to place an order for new buses.”

The previous MATA board voted to cut six bus routes, including Route 16 Southeast Circulator, Route 28 Airport, Route 34 Central and Walnut Grove, Route 37 Perkins, Route 69 Winchester, and Zone 3 Cordova Ready! On Demand. The cuts were slated to go into effect November 3rd. However, during last week’s City Council meeting, Young said he wanted to halt these changes after TransPro released its report.

Prior to those changes being passed, the agency held 19 public meetings prior to the board meeting to discuss the changes. After hearing from the community, the agency said many had a desire to maintain the current bus service, and they wanted service to last longer and an improved on-time performance.

“The public hasn’t changed in what they want and what they need. It’s just our ability to deliver these services,” John Lancaster, MATA’s chief development officer said during a previous board meeting.

In addition to route suspensions, the board also decided to raise fares for MATA’s fixed-route buses. Adult base fare will be $1.75 compared to the current fare of $1.00. The increases also affect fares for students, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities. Fares for FastPasses were also increased.

TransPro said these cuts would make it harder for MATA to deliver reliable service, which they argued should be the primary goal of the agency. However, BTBM said TransPro failed to consider that the agency is not able to provide these services consistently due to their lack of buses in the fleet.

“How can the report recommend maintaining service levels when the system doesn’t even have the buses to run those routes reliably?” BTBM co-chair Dorothy Conner asked. “ It’s not supported by data or resources, and it contradicts its own findings, which highlight that Memphians want reliable transit – not an overstretched system that can’t deliver.”

BTBM said the report also failed to show the “underfunding” from previous city councils, as the city is the primary funding source of the agency. Leo Arnoult, spokesman for BTBM said both the mayor and city council have “failed to provide inflation-adjusted budgets or release Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) funds.”

The organization said these issues were unaddressed in the report, and that replacing the entire MATA board would not fix these issues. The agency has been open about the cost of doing business as they need an additional $7.5 million for personnel costs, and $5 million for operating expenses. BTBM is urging both Mayor Young and the City Council to increase funding for the agency to resolve these issues.

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Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) leaders reported improvements across many of its service lines to Memphis City Council members Tuesday.

Bacarra Mauldin, MATA’s interim CEO, told the council’s Transportation Committee that ridership and usage was up on trollies, buses, and the agency’s on-demand system. Mauldin was appointed on February 1, 2024 following the retirement of Gary Rosenfeld.

When Mauldin stepped into the role the agency was “fresh from the rejection” of their controversial proposed winter service changes. Mauldin said their biggest challenges were unreliable services and buses, and “strained relationship with community advocates.”

However, recent changes helped to push total ridership over 2 million recently, she said, with a significant number of those on MATA’s traditional bus services, The most popular routes to date are the 36-Lamar, 50- Poplar, and 42- Crosstown. These numbers are reported from year-to-date.

More than 36,000 hopped a trolley last month, Mauldin said. Much of that improvement came from a partnership with Renasant Convention Center.

“They really help us advertise and promote our services when conventions come to town,” she said. “We get a lot of additional ridership on our trolleys during those instances.”

Mauldin said Groove On-Demand, MATA’s “Uber-ish” car service system, rose to over 100,000 bookings so far this year. That service allows citizens to call a car for access to Downtown, the Medical District, South City, and New Chicago.

Mauldin said MATA is also listening to customers and community organizations. In the last 80 days MATA leaders met with members of the Bus Riders Union, Citizens for Better Service, and Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH).

“As a result, we renewed our joint commitment to work and make transit better for all riders,” Mauldin said. “Advocate and adversary don’t have to be the same. We all want better transit, and we can do more if we all work together.”

To further improve transit in the Mid-South, Mauldin said MATA met with union leadership “early.” She said they do not have a contract yet, but wanted to let council members know that this was a priority.

The agency has also added eight new buses that are in service to their “fixed route bus fleet,” and has secured 29 used buses to aid in reliability and efficiency.

“Hallelujah!” council member Jana Swearengen-Washington said at the conclusion of the presentation . “Our emails of concerns and phone calls have just been drastically reduced. We appreciate your team and all that you’re doing.”