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MATA CEO Discusses State of Transit, Budget, and Proposed Changes

Baccarra Mauldin (Photo: Memphis Area Transit Authority)

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) has gone through significant change over the past few months, prompting questions from concerned citizens and bus riders alike.

Bacarra Mauldin was named interim CEO following the retirement of former CEO Gary Rosenfeld in February. Mauldin’s appointment followed the aftermath of the agency opting to nix their controversial proposed winter service changes.

Since those proposed changes that were presented as a way to enhance the agency’s on-time performance and efficiency, other problems have arisen, such as a $60 million deficit that was announced in May.

Mauldin said the agency is going through a “transformation” dedicated to serving Memphis and their entire service area in the best way possible.

Having worked in transit prior to arriving at MATA, Mauldin said she would call the current state of affairs “business unusual.”

“I say that as a play on ‘business as usual’ because so many transit agencies across the country are going through the same thing — at various levels and proportions,” Mauldin said. “They’re all going through their ‘isms’ when it comes to budget, and funding, and finance.”

Ridership has plummeted as a result of Covid-19, playing a major factor in the state of transit, Mauldin said. Agencies are also in the aftermath of Covid-19 relief funds running out.

“That really propelled the state of financial instability for transit agencies across the country, large and small,” Mauldin said.

Mauldin said the agency’s debt has been growing due to the increased cost of doing business, decreased ridership, and flat funding. She added that their budget holds have resulted in slower on-time performance.

One of the first things Mauldin did in her official capacity was to retain the services of external CFO Hamish Davidson of J.S. Held LLC. Mauldin said up until this point, there had not been a CFO at the agency, and they needed someone to get in immediately to recreate those financials so they could “move forward with certainty.”

“Knowing good business, and what good business structure and practices look like, I made the decision early on that I needed a reputable, credible CFO to come in and rebuild the finances because the finances hadn’t been reported in quite some time,” Mauldin said. “In fact the financial reports didn’t even exist.”

In addition to this, Mauldin said the agency immediately put “cost-saving measures” into effect. MATA hopes to bring the CFO position in-house “in time.”

“The cost-saving measures will probably be a permanent thing,” Mauldin said. “We are stewards of taxpayer’s money, and we want to make sure we are always using those in the best way, and operating in transparency and good faith.”

As a result of acting in transparency, the agency has made both employees and riders aware of some of the potential changes that could take place in order to improve efficiency, performance, and the budget.

“If we were to keep operating the way we’re operating today, our budget would be $85 million,” Mauldin said. “We have committed to our board that we were going to present a balanced budget. We presented a draft budget of $67 million for FY25.”

These cuts have impacted routes, staffing, and other factors, Mauldin said. While she said these changes “hurt,” the agency has to have a “solid, sustainable foundation” to thrive.

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MATA Provides Safety and Security Updates at Board Meeting

Photo: Memphis Area Transit Authority via Facebook

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is working to improve the safety experience for both passengers and drivers, while also working to engage with local law enforcement on safety preventions.

Keith Watson, chief safety and security officer, presented his first safety assessment at the agency’s recent board of commissioners meeting, and said upon his presentation he looked at several areas within MATA such as the safety risk management combined with their “best practices.”

Watson said the organization is split into two categories: fixed route operations and rail operations. Fixed route operations are those that occur on the “surface” on roadways of the city, while rail operations are “more regulated” than the fixed routes.

When looking at the rail operations, Watson concluded there were 31 corrective action plans (CAPS) from 2020 to 2023 for MATA. He said these are plans to address risk factors identified as a result of accidents or other safety incidents. Watson and his team were able to address these plans and reduce the number to 11 for August 2024.

In terms of fixed route operations, some of the areas that MATA identified for extra inspection were the GPS reporting and radio systems that are on each bus called “EQUANS.” Watson said these provide location reporting and time point placement.

“We talk about on-time performance, and I’ve heard many of my colleagues mention that some of the time points were not properly reporting to EQUAN. We’ve been working through that,” Watson said.

He added that they plan to invite EQUAN to their meeting so they can have a “grassroot understanding of the things that are happening for their overall safety and locating of [their] buses.”

Some other observations made to evaluate fixed route operations were facility and infrastructure inspections, route assessment, fire safety and evacuation practices, and safety prevention campaigns.

“We must remain consistent on those particular programs and engaging with our employees to have a safety culture over the overall system,” Watson said.

This ushered in a conversation on crime activity at their transit centers located on Main Street (William Hudson Transit Center), American Way, and Airways. Larceny and simple assault were the only crimes reported at all three locations and accounted for many of the offenses compared to disorderly conduct, robbery, and trespassing to name a few.

“Hudson Center, for the year, is reported with most incidents with Airways coming in at a close second,” Watson said.

He added that only some crimes make it to “paper” via their reporting center. Watson said he believed there were 94 reports made, with  operator and passenger disputes accounting for 40 of those.

“Those disputes usually stem from bus arrival/departure times, location of the bus pickups, and some personal preferences on where a passenger would like to get off outside of the revenue lane,” Watson said.

MATA has also been reviewing security footage to look for individuals that could pose a threat to the transit experience by committing crimes that are “punishable by state or federal law.” They’ve begun the process of placing “Be On The Look Out” flyers while also engaging with security contractors and local law enforcement.

The presentation closed with an overview of their safety performance in crashes where 51 percent were non-preventable, and 49 percent were preventable. A majority of these crashes involved fixed objects, with sideswiping coming in second.

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MATA Commissioners Authorize $1 Million Insurance Plan

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) has authorized an insurance plan nearing $1 million during their July 30th board of commissioners meeting. This decision comes as questions still surround the organization’s financial status.

MATA recommended the global insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for their plan starting through August 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025. Officials said the premium is an excess of $992,000. They said this is reasonable “based on today’s market” and is “very important for the company.”

“It’s an expense that MATA incurs every year,” an official said. “Obviously the amount differs each year. In view of MATA’s current cash flow circumstances, this is a very significant expenditure — just as any expenditure close to $1 million would be.”

Board chairman Michael Fulton expressed his concern with a policy totaling almost $1 million given the agency’s $60 million deficit.

Hamish Davidson of J.S. Held LLC, MATA’s external CFO, said as recently as Tuesday, he consulted with the city of Memphis and said MATA expected to raise an invoice against the city to “draw down against the operational grant funding” up to $1 million to cover the plan.

Shortly after gaining approval for the insurance plan, the agency informed its board that they are preparing to present one of its “most consequential budgets of MATA’s history.” 

Officials decided to forego a traditional finance report as their finance team is working on the year-end closeout which they plan to present in August. They said this will show how the organization fared for the year. 

The board of commissioners were presented with a draft of the budget, but it was not available to the public for review.

“We felt as though it would be important to put a draft of this budget in front of you,” interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin said to the organization’s board of commissioners. “We’re not going to discuss it in any detail today because we plan to have a very robust finance committee meeting, and we want to make sure you are armed with as much information as possible going into that process.”

Mauldin said they have the opportunity to balance their budget for the first time in a “considerable” amount of years. She said she is honoring her commitment to present a balanced budget to the board.

In June, the city of Memphis allocated $30 million to the organization for FY25. Shelby County gave MATA $1.2 million, which Mauldin previously said was “consistent with where they’ve been for the past few years.”

At the end of budget season, Davidson told commissioners that he would present a timetable that addresses the current and future state of their budget.

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Red Sand Project Brings Light to Human Trafficking

The Red Sand Project will fill in cracks in cement outside of MATA Airways Transit Center. (Photo: Courtesy Red Sand Project | Facebook)

Of all the counties in Tennessee, Shelby County’s population is the most vulnerable to human trafficking, according to the Tennessee Community Assessment 2023 Report released by the Engage Together Project. 

That ranking along what has been labeled the Vulnerable Population Index has been determined through a number of factors, like population density, poverty levels, crime rates, the percentage of population that speaks limited or no English, and much more. 

Individuals may be trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, or organ sales. “There’s been human trafficking documented in every one of the 95 counties of Tennessee, so human trafficking happens everywhere,” says Rachel Sumner Haaga, executive director of Restore Corps, which aims to eradicate human trafficking by working with survivors and seeking justice through systemic change.

“One thing to note with regards to human trafficking is, it is a victimization that, unless someone reports being victimized, is exceptionally hard to assess,” Sumner Haaga adds. “If someone busts the car window of your vehicle, it is very clear that you’ve been victimized, and it’s easy to gauge that victimization. No one’s going to ask, ‘Are you sure that somebody busted your window?’ 

“Whereas, human trafficking is not only a crime that goes underreported because even the victims themselves sometimes might not be aware of their own victimization for a number of different reasons, or they may have the belief that even if they were to say something, they might not be believed, because it’s hard to understand the grooming and recruitment process.”

So building awareness of what human trafficking is and that it happens here in Memphis is important, for the victims and for the community at large. That’s why Restore Corps, in partnership with MATA, is putting on the Red Sand Project, a participatory art installation created by Molly Gochman. 

“The purpose of the project,” Sumner Haaga says, “is to utilize the red sand to fill in cracks in the sidewalk, where had the sand not been there, we likely would just jump over it; we would walk by. That’s just what we do on a daily basis. The cracks are ignored, but the red sand draws attention to them. So just like people, all over the world or in our community here, who are caught in human trafficking, they’re easy to not see; they’re easy to go by. But when there’s red sand poured in the crack or a light shined on them, it paints the idea of filling the gaps in our community. We all can have some part in filling the cracks and bringing awareness to the issue. You don’t have to work with an organization like ours to [have awareness and raise awareness about human trafficking]. Anybody can do something.”

For the Red Sand Project, which will occur on Tuesday, July 30th, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., the organization will spread sand around the MATA Airways Transit Center (3033 Airways Blvd.). Those who wish to help spread sand are encouraged to sign up here and will be welcome to take sand home with them afterward to fill cracks in their own neighborhoods. 

July 30th is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. 

For more information on Restore Corps or to donate, visit their website here.

If you know someone who needs help to escape trafficking, contact the Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-855-558-6484.

If you suspect you have come into contact with a victim of human trafficking, you may call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233722. Hotline staff members will identify resources in your community. For more information on human trafficking and the hotline, visit humantraffickinghotline.org.

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Bus Riders Fearful of Potential MATA Budget Solutions

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

As the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) works to fix problems in their budget, bus riders are afraid that potential solutions for the agency will negatively impact service for citizens.

Johnnie Mosley, founding chairman of Citizens for Better Service, stated on Friday, July 12th, that his organization along with the Memphis Bus Riders Union received word that MATA administration met with bus drivers about the possibility of layoffs and service cuts.

MATA pledged to be more open and transparent with their ridership about changes affecting service, which Mosley said has not changed. However, he believes that both riders and drivers are concerned for the future.

“We’ve been reaching out to various drivers. We reached out to the union to see if we could get any verification or answers,” Mosley said. “In the meantime, we’ve been in close communication with Representative Justin J. Pearson, and we’re trying to figure out whether there are resources or money that the state could have to get MATA out of this situation.”

Following this comment, Erik Stevenson, chief of strategic partnerships and programs for MATA, released this statement:

“With staff and riders, we must consistently share that MATA faces a significant budget deficit resulting from years of increasing costs, decreasing ridership, and flat funding. In August, we’ll begin a thorough engagement process to assist us with the tough decisions that must be made to optimize our transportation system. To maintain our pledge to provide a balanced budget, all options have to be on the table.”

MATA’s interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin reported in her June 2024 CEO report that there is currently a hiring freeze despite their recruitment focuses on a number of open positions such as mechanics and trolley and fixed route operators. She said they are trying their best to “manage with the staff they have.”

In May, the transit authority revealed they had a $60 million deficit, and was “committed to increasing revenue and refining [its] process of spending.”

During their June budget proposal hearing in front of Memphis City Council, Mauldin said their biggest expenses are wages and fringe benefits as they have to offer competitive compensation packages. She also said MATA needed more mechanics, operators, and buses for their fixed routes and MATAPlus services for citizens with disabilities.

They also said a large amount of their budget would go towards installation of the Memphis Innovation Corridor, the first bus rapid transit service in Memphis.

While MATA has presented ways to refine their budget and spending, many riders are unhappy with some of their proposed solutions. Citizens like Mosley fear that the agency may resort to changes that would negatively affect their ridership.

Mosley alluded to the agency’s controversial proposed winter service changes that were presented in 2023. These changes included suspending service after 9 p.m. and suspending a number of routes. MATA’s board ultimately decided to nix these proposals after poor reception from the public. 

After advocating on behalf of citizens while these proposals were on the table, Mosley said he hopes that the agency doesn’t resort back to these solutions in hopes of fixing their financial issues.

“The question is: Where are they going to cut?” Mosley said. “We don’t want those cuts to [affect] underserved areas. We don’t want the same plan the board rejected in December. We need MATA to come up with plans on how to increase ridership.”

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Public Still Unhappy With MATA’s Transparency After Public Meeting

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

While the city of Memphis has allocated $30 million to Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) for fiscal year 2025 (FY25), questions remain regarding the organization’s $60 million deficit.

During the June 2024 MATA Board of Commissioner meeting on Wednesday, several members of the public expressed their concern for the deficit. Prior to the meeting, organizations such as Citizens for Better Service and Memphis Bus Riders Union said they were unhappy with the organization’s previous ways of addressing the issue.

“MATA owes the city of Memphis, especially bus riders, an explanation of how it is going to solve the deficit without hurting bus riders,” Johnnie Mosley, founding chairman of Citizens for Better Service, said.

These comments came after MATA administration presented their budget proposal earlier this month to the Memphis City Council for consideration.

During the meeting, the transportation agency did not directly address the deficit. Instead, MATA said they were committed to increasing revenue and “refining [their] process of spending.” At the board meeting, MATA interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin said the council would be “more involved” with all organizations and agencies receiving money from the city. 

Mauldin also said, with the city being their primary funding source, they want to make sure they are being as “transparent” as possible.

Shelby County government has allocated $1.2 million towards MATA for FY25, which Mauldin said is “consistent with where they’ve been for the past few years.” She noted that while it may seem like a small amount, their consideration in the budget means there is still the “opportunity to move forward.”

As the city has wrapped up its budget season, Mauldin said she is focused on building relationships with county commissioners and administration to procure a “higher level of funding” in the future.

“We know that the money that we have from the city of Memphis as well as Shelby County will not plug the entire hole,” Mauldin said. “We’re going to continue to work with those funding partners, but in addition we’re going to look into some other ways to get funding to close that gap. Most importantly, we’re going to look in the mirror and we’re going to tighten our own belts, and we’re going to spend smarter on the right things at the right time.”

She added that they are putting safeguards in place in order to ensure they’re being “good stewards of all the taxpayer’s money.”

Hamish Davidson of J.S. Held LLC has been retained by the organization as an external CFO and presented on “financial controls” during the board meeting. Davidson remarked that finance is “an area where if you don’t have the proper controls then your finance department can leak like a sieve.” To prevent this, Davidson said they are working to “spend smarter” and make sure they know where every dollar is spent.

Davidson said they currently have an understanding of MATA’s “historical processes and procedures” as well as their accounting systems. They also have gained the trust of employees.

However, he said they still need to identify their risk profiles and “current and future state of their budget and headcount,” and “determine the appropriate controls, reporting, and policies necessary.”

“A lot of these processes need to be updated,” Davidson said. “They’re totally out of date and more importantly they also need to be followed to the letter.”

Davidson said when he was retained in February, he thought they would be “long finished” by now in addressing these things, but he said it’s been put on the back burner due to more “pressing issues” related to MATA’s financials such as preparing the budget for FY25.

He said over the next few weeks they could create a timetable to present to MATA’s Board of Commissioners.

Close to the end of the meeting, the board opened the floor for public comment. They noted that this portion was for receiving comments and that they would not engage in a “spirited debate.”

Some participants made comments about bad service from both the agency and bus drivers; however, most complaints were about the agency’s finances.

Joe Kent of the Taxpayer Justice Institute criticized the agency for saying they lead with transparency when he said they are “anything but transparent.”

“If you want to collaborate with the public you need to answer questions,” Kent said. “How are you operating with a negative $10.1 million in cash? I just don’t understand that.”

Another participant suggested that the organization was “being investigated and some indictments were coming down.”

The board said that while they were not going to go back and forth with participants, they would follow up with them individually.

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MATA Presents Budget Proposal to City Council

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

The Memphis Area Transit Authority has requested $30,670,000 from the Memphis City Council for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25.) This meeting comes weeks after it was revealed that MATA had a $60 million deficit.

MATA is projecting $65,219,738 in revenue for FY25, with federal grants and contributions from the city and county government contributing major portions. The agency said the city is the primary provider of operating funds.

Despite a budget gap, the agency said it is committed to increasing revenue and “refining [its] process of spending.”

“We recognize that there is a gap,” said MATA interim CEO Baccara Mauldin who, with other agency officials, faced the council Tuesday afternoon for the budget hearing. 

“As the leader of MATA, personally and professionally, I own what I’ve inherited,” Mauldin said. “I own the problems but I also own the engineering of the fix. I’m holding the steering wheel on what will drive Memphis and MATA to a better mobility.”

Prior to her presentation, Mauldin said transparency and fiscal responsibility are two of her core leadership values, and as a result, she retained the services of an “external CFO” on her second day in office. Hamish Davidson of J.S. Held LLC joined Mauldin during the presentation.

Mauldin said the proposed budget for FY25 is $84,211,321, with its largest expense being wages and fringe benefits. She added that due to the nature of the work, the agency has to be more competitive with compensation packages. The CEO also emphasized MATA’s need for mechanics and operators.

In addition to needing competitive compensation packages, MATA says it needs more buses for fixed routes and MATAPlus services for citizens with disabilities. A large amount will go towards installation of the Memphis Innovation Corridor, which is the first bus rapid transit service in Memphis.

Mauldin reminded the council that these adjustments and changes are vital to having a “complete mobility system” in the city. She also said she would meet with council members and host town halls with constituents.

“It’s going to take some time, because we want to make sure that we reach every community through this process, that we get to talk to each one of you as well as our other stakeholders,” Mauldin said. “We really want to make sure that at the end of the day the reimagining of what transit looks like is a process and a plan we can all get behind, and know that we played a part in it.”

After the presentation, numerous council members posed questions regarding the expansion of MATA services to other communities such as the I-40 corridor, accountability measures, and increasing the electric vehicle fleet.

Prior to the dismissal of MATA’s team from the presentation, Councilman Chase Carlisle said, “The city of Memphis, the Memphis City Council is fully committed to supporting MATA. It is critical to core services and workforce development and opportunity. The city is committed to funding MATA at the level it’s always funded. I know the council is committed to that. I don’t think anybody has any intentions on reducing. The city of Memphis, at least the city council, is fully committed to funding at the level it’s always funded, and I look forward to the reimagining process,” Carlisle said.

Carlisle added that COVID changed the way the city looked at and operated on-demand services, and said the city has a “great opportunity” to reimagine it.

The council did not question MATA about the deficit which left some citizens “dissatisfied.” Cynthia Bailey, co-chair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union, said city council should not let MATA off the hook.

“The Memphis City Council must send a strong [message] to MATA that they are going to hold MATA accountable for past and future funding,” Sammie Hunter, co-chair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union added.

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MATA Reports Improvements In Ridership, Community Engagement

Photo: Justin Fox Burks

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.”

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Entrepreneurs Invited to Solve Memphis Mobility Problems

Photo by Nabeel Syed on Unsplash

Multiple agencies are working together to empower entrepreneurs to find solutions to transportation issues in Memphis.

The “Memphis Challenge Explore Report” was released today by Ford Motor Company, the Greater Memphis Chamber, Start Co., and Christian Brothers University. The report emphasizes multiple areas of improvement for “community-center mobility.”

“We launched this initiative to transform cities by helping solve mobility problems via the inclusion of community input,” the Memphis Challenge team said. “ Our framework zooms down to one person, one solution at a time to provide an intimate view of a city’s needs and how they may be addressed with new innovative solutions.”

Findings from the report highlight four areas the agencies are hoping to find solutions to in late 2024 through an initiative called the Memphis Challenge, led by Ford’s Urbanite program “with support from 12 local collaborators.” These four areas include: creating safe access to transportation, safety through the entire mobility journey, personal vehicle reliability, and understanding the total cost of car and mobility ownership.

This will allow local and national entrepreneurs to propose ideas to remedy these issues.

“Memphis Challenge winners are expected to receive up to $150,000 in pilot grant funding through the challenge program, with an additional $450,000 available to challenge finalists in seed funding, technical support, legal assistance, and startup business resources.”

The companies are urging entrepreneurs to find solutions that will improve accessibility to jobs, education, and healthcare. Past winners included community mobility hubs, pick-up/drop-off services for school children, farm-to-door food delivery, and more.

One of the key findings of the report found that citizens are concerned about their safety when using any mode of transportation.

“Regardless of time of day, gender, age, ability or mode of transportation, Memphians are concerned about their personal wellbeing and safety when walking out their front door,” the report said.

It also stated public transportation is not always the preferred method, as many found Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) to be “unable to get them to their destination at a time that works for them.” This resulted in many reporting they only use MATA for non-time-sensitive trips.

Citizens also told the team many of their options for jobs, food, education, and healthcare in their immediate neighborhoods have left them “dissatisfied” causing them to travel to locations that may be “ 20-30 minutes away by car.”  According to the report, this makes alternative modes of transportation such as walking and biking “infeasible.”

Another aspect of the report showed many Memphians rely on relatives and extended family for multiple mobility purposes such as pickup and organizing rideshare. 

“These family networks felt unique asset to Memphis and something to be considered when developing new mobility solutions,” the report said.

The report added that the median household income of the city is $50,622 with a poverty rate of 18 percent for adults.  From these findings, the team concluded “Memphis residents don’t have much extra to spend on transportation.”

These areas represent multiple opportunities for change, and the Memphis Challenge Team is urging entrepreneurs to submit proposals to consider these things along with intentional equity, environmental sustainability, replicability and scalability among others.

“These Explore Report findings complement other transit and mobility initiatives throughout the greater Memphis area – however, it does highlight some recent trends that tie into the public safety concerns Memphis has been experiencing,” the team said in a statement. “The Ford Urbanite Memphis Challenge is a spark to provide support, spread awareness and rally additional resources to an area that is ripe for innovation in, and around, Memphis.”


Those interested in applying should apply to the Urbanite Challenge Memphis I F6S by Friday, May 10.

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MATA To “Keep Service As Is,” Despite Proposed Changes

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The Memphis Area Transit Authority’s (MATA) board of commissioners decided Tuesday to keep transit service “the same until further notice,” despite proposed changes slated for February 2024.

The board met in October of 2023 and decided to put a pause on proposed service changes that were due to go into effect this month. After hearing input from the public, the board questioned the effectiveness of the changes, and tabled the decision for the December meeting. 

The agency has repeatedly stressed that these changes are necessary to “give the community service it can rely on.” MATA has a shortage of mechanics. This means bus repairs take longer, meaning more buses are out of service. The changes would free up buses for better service on some of the most-used routes. Officials said that they are currently missing 20 percent of all of their scheduled trips.

According to MATA CEO, Gary Rosenfeld, these service changes help to make service more reliable.

“The important thing in transit is that what you show on the printed schedule, that bus will arrive,” said Rosenfeld. “We understand that’s a severe impact to our existing customers, so that’s the purpose of these changes, is to help align our service better with the service we could provide.” 

Prior to the October board meeting, the agency held 12 public meetings to discuss the proposed changes and to hear public feedback. According to the agency, the most common comments were concerning the “negative impact of the proposed service end time of 7 p.m.,” and “employment areas such as the airport and logistic centers.”

MATA recommended adjustments to the routes 30-Brooks and Route 69-Winchester. It also proposed extending the service time  beyond 7 p.m., for their “high-performing nighttime routes.” This included 8- Chelsea and Highland, 11-Frayser, 30-Brooks, 32-Hollywood and Hawkins Mill, 36-Lamar, 39-South Third, 42-Crosstown, 50-Poplar, 52-Jackson, and 100-Main Street Trolley.

The board was presented with a number of options that included combinations of proposed service changes with headway variations (the amount of time it takes for one bus to come after the next) and route suspensions. MATA also included options that would “impact service areas with fixed-route changes.”

Option one allowed for MATA service to remain “the same as it is today.” All further options included adjusted headways with route suspensions, with either a few or no additional options.

Option two proposed for weekday service to run until 11 p.m., Saturday service until 10:00 p.m., and Sunday service until 6:00 p.m.

The third option would have weekday and Saturday service run until 7 p.m., and Sunday service until 6 p.m. Officials also said that this option would potentially include the “MATA Night Groove Service,” which would run seven days a week, from 7 pm. to 11 p.m., with “15-20 minute frequency.”  

Option four was deemed “most severe,” as it would suspend weekday and Saturday service at 7 p.m, Sunday service at 6 p.m., with no Night Groove option.

Many urged the board to vote in favor of option one, including Tennessee Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis.)

“The community needs more time to understand what the consequence of this decision is going to be,” said Pearson. “These are real consequences. When you think about environmental justice, economic justice, social justice in our communities, which all relate to racial justice, it has real implications.

“To make a decision at this point without more  input from the community about the consequences…we need more time as a community to find out what the best solutions are.”