Tag: MATA

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News News Blog

Man Shot on MATA Bus, Police Searching for Shooter

CREDIT: Preston Johnson

A man was shot on the Route 19-Vollintine bus this afternoon, as the bus was pulling into the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) North End Terminal.

The man, who was shot in the abdomen, was transported to the Regional Medical Center in critical condition. The shooter escaped down Second Street, and police are searching for him. The two men got into a verbal dispute on the bus, before one man pulled a gun out of his backpack and shot the other man, according to MATA spokesperson Alison Burton.

“As the bus pulled down [into the terminal], people were screaming and asking the driver to let them off. She opened the door, and the suspect ran north on Second Street. They’re still looking for him,” Burton said.

She said MATA has diverted customers to a side street to catch their buses while the police investigate the active crime scene. Route 19 is still running, but they’re using another bus. There are disruptions in service, Burton said.

Preston Johnson

Preston Johnson

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Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said …

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

About Jackson Baker’s post, “Council Votes Final Passage of Ordinance to Remove Forrest Statue” …

If the state somehow managed to keep the statue from moving, what would stop the city from building something that encircles the entire statue, blocking the view of it from all sides, some sort of architectural monument built over the existing one? That would be a fun thumb in the eye, if state law somehow kept the city from being able to relocate the statue.

GroveReb84

How about some kind of large art installation celebrating gay rights surrounding the old Wizard of the Saddle? Maybe with lots of leather …

Packrat

Watkins Overton was a noted segregationist during his time as Memphis mayor. No way we should have our “crown jewel park” named after him. May I suggest “Zoo Overflow Parking Park” as an adequate replacement name.

Midtown Mark

About Bianca Phillips’ post, “WMC’s Dave Brown to Retire” …

I will miss his calm approach to something everywhere else played to maximize anxiety. I hope his successors stand their ground to continue that approach.

Brunetto Latini

Good luck to Dave in his retirement. He will be sadly missed. He is a legend in Memphis. And Ron Childers will do an excellent job serving in Dave’s position. Many thanks to both of you.

Alina K. Kaiser

About Bianca Phillips’ story on the Steven Askew case, “Switching Stories” …

My question is: Why didn’t the cops run his plates and see what they could find out about the person in the car? I know from personal experience that a good-sized police department in Texas would not pull over anyone unless they could run wants and warrants on his car first. (I was the consultant called in to fix the wants and warrants problem.) That’s because they wanted to know if it was a person with no record, a dangerous criminal, if the car was stolen, etc., before they approached the vehicle. Had they done that, they could have determined he had no criminal record as well as a pistol permit, and maybe not banged on his window while he was minding his own business and sleeping in his car in a bad part of town.

He was found dead with a cigar in his hand, not a gun, and the last time I read about this, the gun was on the seat next to him, not in his lap. The cop who didn’t request that Askew’s gun to be checked to see if it had been fired, even after hearing the inconsistent statements from the cops, should not be investigating anything. The cops’ explanation has never passed the smell test, and still doesn’t. Maybe some day someone will write a book or make a movie about the Steven Askew case and get the attention it deserves.

GWCarver

About Alexandra Pusateri’s story, “Bus vs. Trolley” …

As chairman/founder of Citizens For Better Service, I have been a leading voice for bus riders for more than 22 years. While I do not dispute the argument of the Memphis Bus Rider Union on the subject of “buses vs. trolleys,” the trolley service is so inextricably tied to downtown Memphis that MATA has no other choice but to spend money on replacing trolleys. Without the trolley service, downtown Memphis will continue to suffer a financial crisis in which workers are laid off and businesses lose customers and will be forced to relocate or close.

MATA needs to streamline the current administration, cut administrative costs, and stay out of projects that have nothing to do with public transportation. MATA needs to listen to the concerns of bus riders, who are having a hard time understanding why MATA is investing millions of dollars in Central Station while they are riding on hot, overcrowded buses that take up to two hours to get to their destination.

Sadly, more funding for public transportation is not a top priority for the city or a major issue in this election season.

Johnnie Mosley

Correction:

In the Aug. 13th issue “Bus vs. Trolley” story, we printed that the trolleys cost $1.8 million. They cost $1.1 million. We regret the error.

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News The Fly-By

Bus Rider Union Calls For New Buses, Fewer Trolleys

Using the hashtag #transitNOTtrolleys, the Memphis Bus Riders Union (MBRU) has taken to social media with a call for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) to focus on improving or replacing buses rather than spending money on replacing trolleys.

In July, MATA approved the purchase of eight rubber-wheeled, trolley-like buses for $1,178,256. But Bennett Foster, an organizer with MBRU, said the focus should be on remedying recent complaints of overcrowding and a lack of air conditioning on buses, as well as buses breaking down in the middle of routes.

MBRU organizers recently met with Mayor A C Wharton regarding the transit system’s budget, suggesting a prioritization of buses and bus facilities — both of which, the organization says, are lacking.

“We met with [MATA President] Ron Garrison a few months ago, and he told us there are just dozens of buses parked on his lot that are not operating, as well as buses that are beyond their useful life,” Foster said. “Our campaign right now is centered around the funding that we’re getting for trolley renovations and trolley infrastructure. It’s inequitable.”

Alison Burton, marketing and service director for MATA, said there is an open dialogue with MBRU regarding transit issues. She said MATA executives shared mutual concerns over the poor state of the William Hudson Transit Center (previously the North End Terminal downtown), which is currently getting new paint and flooring.

While the union is happy to see MATA making improvements there, the focus of their latest campaign is MATA’s push for new trolleys, which union members say will take away money that could be used to fix other issues. In a fact sheet given to the mayor by the MBRU, the organization says more than two-thirds of the MATA’s capital funding will go toward new trolleys, when they believe it should go to replacing buses.

MATA admits that trolley ridership is way down, after the vintage trolley streetcars were temporarily replaced with trolley buses. MATA is still working to get the original trolley cars back online after several trolley fires, but there is no timeline for when that will happen. In the meantime, MATA will use the new trolley-like buses on the routes.

“We know trolley ridership is down 70 percent,” Burton said.

According to Burton, ridership is more than 35,000 per month on the bus “trolleys” downtown. But when the streetcars were up and running, ridership exceeded 125,000 riders per month.

Ron Garrison, president and general manager of MATA, says the trolleys are a challenge. And he agrees that MATA’s older buses should be replaced, but the budget is limited. He said MATA currently has 60 buses in use with mileage as high as 700,000. That’s 200,000 miles past when they should be retired, according to the Federal Transit Authority. More than two dozen have over 600,000 miles.

“This makes it very challenging to make the buses work as well as they could,” Garrison said. “I have money to replace three buses this year.”

And as buses get older and more miles are put on them, he added, they are more expensive to repair.

“We’ve reorganized our maintenance department,” Garrison said. “I hired a new director of bus maintenance and a new assistant. The department is much better. We’ve found ways we can save money, which we put right back into maintaining buses, but there’s only so much you can do with over 60 buses that are well past their useful life.”

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News News Blog

MATA to Expand Bus Service to Employment Centers, Improve Customer Service

Some of MATA’s CMAQ funds will go toward improvements at Central Station.

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) plans to use five grants totaling $4.7 million from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to expand bus service to employment centers and to improve customer experiences.

The funds were awarded through TDOT’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program, which although administered by TDOT, is funded through the federal government.

Here’s how the money will be used:
* Public infrastructure improvements at Central Station, including a new trolley station, a transit connector concourse, and other pedestrian and bike-friendly streetscape improvements.

* A new bus route called the Wolfchase Connector that connect employers in the Appling Farms area and educational institutions such as Southwest Tennessee Community College with Shelby Farms and retailers in the Wolfchase Mall area

* A new express bus service connecting downtown with the American Way Transit Center, Greyhound intercity buses, and major employers near the airport.

* A new route called the Getwell Connector connecting multi-family residences and major employers in southeast Memphis.

* A new route called the Airport Shuttle Express that will provide direct express service between the Airways Transit Center, American Way Transit Center, and Memphis International Airport.

The CMAQ funds will cover 80 percent of the cost of these planned projects, while the other 20 percent (about $1.9 million) will be matched by the city of Memphis.

“These funds are a significant opportunity for us to get people in the inner city to jobs out east and around the airport area,” Mayor A C Wharton said. “It’s a good step in the right direction towards lowering the cost of living for the poor and providing access to greater opportunities for employment. I am pleased that MATA is doing what it can to expand services where they can have a major impact.”

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News The Fly-By

MATA Studies New Transit Options for Midtown

From the growing absence of the downtown and Midtown trolleys to the seemingly ever-present complaints about city bus services, getting around in Memphis without a car continues to be a struggle for many.

But the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) hired a consulting firm last year in an effort to improve service, at least for Midtown bus riders. The Midtown Area Connector (MAC) study, which is still underway, is a long-range study to help MATA discover better ways to connect Midtown with other areas of Memphis, either through a new transit service or by expanding on existing ones.

New transit services being considered are “bus rapid transit” or even rail service, which would be designed to reduce travel time, provide real-time travel information, or include dedicated bus lanes on city streets.

Earlier this month, MATA held a meeting with Livable Memphis to update bus riders on the study’s progress. The consultants have identified seven routes, which they narrowed down from 26 routes, that are the most highly trafficked and in need of the most improvement.

In addition to allowing MATA to provide an update on the study, the meeting also gave bus riders an opportunity to comment on the current operations of MATA. Many riders brought up the fact that the routes chosen for the study neglected to reach low-income areas of Memphis. MATA’s use of its funding was also brought into question, in addition to questions about why some bus lines or services had been limited in recent months.

Concerns about whether it was possible to bring new trolley lines into the picture while the old lines are still not operating were also aired. MATA did recently announce that trolley-like buses would begin running downtown in August, but there’s no word on when those will come to Midtown or when the real trolleys will be back. However, MATA officials reassured those attending the meeting that they do plan to get the trolleys going eventually.

“We fully intend to have the trolleys back on Madison at some point. We can’t commit to a time at this moment,” said Tom Fox, deputy general manager of MATA.

Some at the meeting expressed concern about the lack of ability to check on the time of bus arrivals. The MAC study is looking at providing new bus shelters that include a system for real-time bus arrival estimates. But for now, MATA officials are encouraging riders to use TransLoc Rider, their new bus times app for smartphones.

Alison Burton, MATA’s director of marketing and customer relations, said the input from the meeting was important for their MAC study.

“This has been the best [meeting], because the group was so diverse and they had such excellent questions. We [had] note takers, and we’ll take all the information that we received and look at that,” Burton said. “Anything that comes up that we hear repeatedly, the team is going to take that back and include that in their next report.”

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News The Fly-By

Bus Riders Union Asks For Improvements at North End Terminal

CREDIT: Memphis Bus Riders Union

It’s doubtful that anyone, not even Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) President Ron Garrison or MATA board member Chooch Pickard, would say the North End Terminal bathrooms are in good shape.

“It’s horrible. It’s like third-world conditions,” said Pickard, referring to the state of the downtown bus terminal restrooms.

Garrison admitted that, although they’ve put extra staff on cleaning duty in those bathrooms, he didn’t think “the extra cleaning being done is adequate.”

Renovated restrooms at the North End Terminal are one of many improvements the Memphis Bus Riders Union (MBRU) is demanding in a new plan addressing what they consider to be inadequacies at the downtown station. Among those are problems with MATA’s contracted security officers, poor customer service due to a lack of personnel, and general lack of aesthetics.

“It’s been a long time since that place has seen some love,” said MBRU’s Bennett Foster. “We’re hoping the MATA board will adopt this plan and that they can set aside some funding in this budget cycle.”

Garrison hadn’t seen MBRU’s plan as of press time since they’re planning to introduce it at MATA’s June board meeting. But he said bathroom renovations at the downtown terminal are already in the works. Renovation work should start before the end of this fiscal year, he said.

“Those bathrooms were one of the first things I saw when I was brand new [last summer] and touring all the facilities,” Garrison said. “We immediately began to look for money in the budget or some way we could keep the bathrooms cleaner.”

Perhaps a more complicated issue in MBRU’s plan addresses issues with security officers from Ambassador Worldwide Protection Agency, which MATA contracts with to provide security at the terminal facilities. Foster said the union has received complaints from riders that officers have harassed riders for wearing sagging pants, and one officer was overheard using a racial slur.

MBRU is demanding that MATA terminate its contract with Ambassador and begin contracting with Memphis police officers for security since the South Main precinct is moving its offices into the North End Terminal this fall. They say that will create better transparency.

“With Memphis police, if we have any issues, we can do an open records request. But with a private company, they don’t have to tell us anything. They can keep us in the dark,” Foster said.

Pickard is pushing for body cameras for the Ambassador security officers, and Garrison said he’s working with Ambassador to correct the problems. Garrison agrees that body cameras would be a good idea.

“I think that would help a lot of things,” Garrison said. “For example, when you know your mom and dad are watching you and you’re 15, you’re probably not going to go in and have a glass of wine or beer in front of them. You’ll be on your best behavior. That’s so the customer will have a higher level of service.”

Other MBRU demands for the North End Terminal include an intercom that would announce when buses arrive, art exhibits, a play area for kids, free wifi, and a new paint job, among others.

Garrison agrees with some of those suggestions. He said he’d love an intercom system if MATA could find the money for it. And in other transit systems where he’s worked, he says he often incorporated art into bus facilities.

“It helps create a sense of place and a sense of wonder,” Garrison said. “This is something we haven’t done yet, but what if we had partnerships with local artists and arts organizations and gave them an opportunity to display their art? That’s what I would like to do.”

The MBRU is also asking MATA to hire more customer service staff system-wide. Garrison admits that customer service “is not what it could be” and says that’s something MATA will be focusing on.

“There are just a few customer service reps, and they do the best they can with what they have. But the only way to solve this issue is to employ more customer service reps and more people on staff who can answer the phone,” Foster said.

Pickard said he’s in agreement with the concerns of the MBRU and that, when the plan is presented to the board, he’ll push for some of these changes. But he warned that change will take time.

“It’s going to take a long time to turn the entire ship around, but we’re going to need to start seeing incremental change very soon,” Pickard said. “There’s been a lot of frustration, but we have a new [MATA president in Ron Garrison].”

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News The Fly-By

Central Station Plan Makes it “Central” Again

CREDIT: Henry Turley Co.

A hotel, movie theater, restaurant, new apartments, shops, and maybe a grocery store are coming to the century-old Central Station in a $55 million project unveiled last week.

Henry Turley Co. and Community Capital have been working for more than a year on a plan for the South Main campus that is now home to an Amtrak station, apartments, the Memphis Railroad and Trolley museum, event space, and the Memphis Farmers Market. The companies plan to bring more activity to the area by building new access to trolleys, trains, housing, entertainment, shopping, buses, and for cyclists and pedestrians.

“Our theme as we’ve moved through this process has been to make Central Station central,” Archie Willis, president of Community Capital, told members of the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s (MATA) finance committee Friday.

Henry Turley Co.

Artist’s rendering of Central Station improvements

The plan would transform the tower of the Central Station building into a boutique hotel. Willis said Friday he’s been in talks with the Kemmons Wilson Companies, which has been in talks with “major” hotel companies interested in the project.

Partners are “ready to go,” Willis said, and are awaiting approval from MATA to begin final negotiations. Willis said he expected construction on the hotel to begin in the middle of next year and wrap up by Elvis Week 2017. Hudson Hall, the event space inside the station, would become a meeting space or ballroom for the new hotel. The new restaurant would be inside the hotel.

Malco Theaters would build a movie theater on the southeast corner of Front and G.E. Patterson. The Powerhouse would be converted into the theater’s ticket counter and refreshment station, according to the plan. The theater would be a five-screen, two-story, art-house movie theater, Willis said. The building would have a modern look with glass and brick, and it would be accented with neon signage. Construction there could begin early next year with a planned opening around the end of 2016.

About 370 new apartment units would be built on the site, mainly in the big empty lot behind the station. The plan shows that a grocery store could be built adjacent to the apartment building.

The Memphis Farmers Market would be moved to the southeast corner of Main and G.E. Patterson in four new open-air pavilions. Willis said there is no firm plan yet for the Railroad and Trolley Museum, but its move to a new location would be “as good or better” than the current location in the first floor of Central Station.

To open and connect the entire campus, the trolley stop next to the Powerhouse would be relocated, maybe to Main Street. Also, a new concourse would be opened in the big wall that fronts Main Street where the wall now meets the Central Station building.

Much of the funding for the project would come from federal government grants. MATA president Ron Garrison said local entities would only need to come up with about $600,000 to draw the remaining money to fund the $55 million project. The full MATA board will vote on the project on April 27th.

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Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said…

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

About Jackson Baker’s cover story on Mike Matthews, “It Only Hurts When He Laughs” …

I commend Jackson Baker for this article. Mike is a compelling enough personality by himself, but he becomes even more larger-than-life thanks to the excellent writing in this piece. Very nice work, Jackson, and welcome back, Mike. You can’t keep a good Watchdog down.

Ken Jobe

Wonderful story about a real reporter with a heart and courage. As a photographer and videographer in Memphis for over 40 years, I have often found myself at news events, back in the line of cameramen and reporters. The people we all know from TV sometimes are very different off-camera. Some are not very nice. Over the years, I have seen some offensive behavior from reporters who magically transformed when they picked up a mic and stood in front of a camera. Most are not like this, but Mike Matthews is even better off camera.

He is exactly what we need on the air — and in our city: depth, truth, humility, humor, and most of all, love.

Peter Ceren

About Toby Sells’ post, “MATA Hopes for May Return of Trolleys” …

So MATA’s short-term solution is returning some trolleys to service 11 months after they were supposed to be down for only three or four months? As the late Don Poier used to say, “Only in the movies, and in Memphis.”

Midtown Mark

About Les Smith’s column, “The Natural” …

Right on point. I agree about Lee Harris and Berlin Boyd, too. We have too much talent in Memphis just sitting around on their hands, waiting for a chance at the plate. We shouldn’t settle for another retread, no matter how great a guy he is. There is, quite simply, too much at stake. It’s time for fresh people and fresh ideas.

OakTree

About Bruce VanWyngarden’s column, “Sammons ’R Us” …

I’m available to take over the airport authority. I’m totally unqualified, so I can give it my full, unqualified attention.

Jeff

About Bruce VanWyngarden’s column, “The Museum of Terrible Ideas” …

Surely there was a typo in the statement that the Riverfront Development Corporation put up $200,000 and got $800,000 more from the Feds to study that goofy water taxis on the river idea. If it was not a typo, what in the world are they spending the money on? Is the contractor one of the decision-maker’s brother-in-law?

Harry Freeman

About Chris Davis’ Viewpoint, “The 75 Percent Rule” … I am writing on behalf of Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to request a correction to the op-ed “The 75 Percent Rule,” which appeared on the Memphis Flyer website on March 5th.

Specifically, the piece states: “The proposed legislation, in the long run, benefits nobody but Todd’s fellow ALEC member, the Corrections Corporation of America, a private company that operates three of Tennessee’s 14 prisons.” This is false. CCA’s non-voting membership with ALEC ended in 2010. As such, CCA is not a current member of ALEC.

Jonathan Burns

Senior Manager, Public Affairs, CCA

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News The Fly-By

Council Gets First Look at MATA Trolley Plan

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Changes may be ahead for the Memphis trolley system as city leaders weigh in next week on the plan to bring the trolleys back.

The trolley system was shut down last June after two trolley cars caught fire on the Madison Line in separate events only seven months apart. Trolley 452 caught fire in November 2013. Trolley 553 caught fire on April 7th of last year. Both trolleys were burned beyond repair.

After the shutdown, the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) brought in a team of rail and transportation safety experts to review the system and help get it back on track. MATA leaders have said they would reveal the trolley plan to the public once the consultants finished their work. But the plan hasn’t surfaced yet.

Even though trolleys haven’t rumbled past Memphis City Hall in nearly eight months, they were on the minds of Memphis City Council members last week. 

Justin Fox Burks

MATA President Ron Garrison

MATA President Ron Garrison asked council members to approve the use of $1.1 million in pre-approved capital funds last week for rail facility improvements. But council members asked Garrison to bring his request back to city hall next week, along with his plan for the trolley system.

Councilmembers Harold Collins and Shea Flinn expressed concerns about the system, especially the Madison Line. Flinn said he and Collins were “far from alone” about questions of trolleys on Madison and called the route a “difficult situation.”

Flinn said there have long been problems with trolley utilization overall but especially on the Madison Line. 

“While we’re in repair and rebuild mode, we should be in rethink mode,” Flinn said. “The city has exhausted a lot of resources on this amenity, and I’m not sure we’re getting the bang for the buck from it that we could be. As we have this forced stoppage, we need to try and think of how we can make this a more-utilized asset.”

Collins said he’s seen and heard about problems of dependability on the trolley system. Any continuing trolley service needs to simply work for the citizens of Memphis, tourists, and business owners, he said.

“If we’re thinking about investing an enormous, no … if we’re going to reinvest potentially an enormous amount of money on this project [we should see a plan],” Collins said. “But nobody seems to agree on or like what they’re doing now.”

When asked what potential changes he’d like to see in the trolley system, Collins said he wanted better connectivity across the city. He recalled a former plan to take a trolley or even a bus from the end of the Madison Line all the way to the corner of Madison and Cooper. The move would help better connect downtown and Midtown.

MATA’s work is focused now on the repair and recertification of five trolley cars, all of them the larger cars. MATA says those are in the best condition and can also carry the most people. 

When they are ready for service, the trolleys will bring service first to the Main Street Line. As more trolleys are repaired, they will be launched on the Riverfront Line and the Madison Line. 

Garrison is scheduled to bring MATA’s trolley plan to city hall next Tuesday, February 3rd for a review by the council’s Public Works and Transportation Committee at 8:45 a.m.

Categories
News The Fly-By

Still No Timeline for Trolleys’ Return

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Progress on reestablishing trolley service to Memphis has been made over the past two months, but officials still aren’t ready to announce a date for their return.

Two fires — both on the Madison Line — caused the still-ongoing shutdown of the Memphis trolley system. Trolley 452 caught fire in November 2013. Trolley 553 caught fire on April 7th.  Both trolleys were burned beyond repair, and the entire system was shut down in June. 

Industry experts were brought in two months ago to fully assess the trolleys, their tracks, and the maintenance and safety protocols that keep them running. 

Nine rail and transportation experts logged more than 1,000 hours in Memphis through October and November, according to the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA). All of those hours have been dedicated to one purpose — bringing the rumble of trolley cars back to Memphis. 

Ron Garrison, president and general manager of MATA, has made no promises about when the trolleys would be back. He’s said that when the experts finish their assessment of the trolley cars and the system, MATA will publish a report of their findings. That report might include a timeline for resuming service. 

So far, some of the experts have worked with MATA staff to develop the scope of work (the size of the entire project), and others have worked to make a list of the parts needed to fix the trolley cars. 

Getting some of those parts has been the major hang-up in the process, according to MATA. Some of the trolleys are more than 100 years old. Parts are hard to find and sometimes parts have to be fabricated. 

Justin Fox Burks

Still, progress is being made, Garrison said, but he’s not yet comfortable putting a date on the trolleys’ return.

“As we all knew when entering into this vital issue of ensuring the safety and long-term viability of the Downtown trolley, there would likely be steps forward along with scheduling challenges,” Garrison said. “Each step forward moves us closer to the ultimate goal of getting trolleys back on the tracks and serving our Downtown.” 

Bringing the trolleys back is not as simple as fixing a few cars and making sure the tracks are straight. After the second fire in April, MATA brought in the first set of outside experts with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), a Washington, D.C.-based industry group. 

Earlier this year, the group issued a scathing report of the Memphis trolley system. It said the system was governed by “deferred, incomplete, or incorrect practices.” This brought an “environment of higher risk … resulting in an escalation in the number of incidents and accidents.” 

The system, according the APTA report, made for unreliable trolleys and, therefore, unreliable trolley schedules. MATA’s practices, the report says, were below the average of “today’s street railway industry.”

In short, the report said the trolley system needed a complete overhaul. MATA and the new set of rail experts are now designing that overhaul, that is, what the trolley system should look like and how it should run in the future. 

The immediate future of the system, though, will only include the Main Street Loop once the trolleys are back in action. The other lines, the Madison Line and the Riverfront Loop, will be added later as more of MATA’s fleet of 17 trolley cars is approved for service.