Tag: MATA

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MATA CEO Talks Funding, Frustrations, and the Future

CREDIT: Facebook/MATA

Facebook/MATA

The city’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year allocates $10 million less to the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) than this year’s.

In Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland’s proposed budget, which he presented to the Memphis City Council last week, MATA would get a little under $19.2 million in fiscal year 2021, down from this year’s amount of $29.2 million.

However, Gary Rosenfeld, CEO of MATA, said he does not anticipate this affecting the agency’s ability to provide services over the next year, largely due to a substantial stimulus package from the federal government.

Under the federal CARES Act, MATA is slated to receive approximately $35.7 million in aid. Rosenfeld said the guidelines for spending CARES Act funds for transit is fairly liberal.

“This money is available and we will charge whatever we can legitimately charge to these accounts,” he said. “We should not see any type of degradation of service because of the city’s financial situation. We should be okay as long as we move cautiously and make sure every expenditure we want to use the stimulus package for is legitimate based on the rules and regulations.”

Rosenfeld said MATA has spent a “considerable amount of money” in response to the coronavirus, on expenditures such as PPE, cleaning, and hazard pay for employees.

These expenses can potentially be offset by CARES Act funds, he said: “We don’t anticipate a negative impact on this fiscal year.”

Service will continue, but there likely won’t be enough funds to make significant improvements in the upcoming year, based on the city’s budget. MATA was also on track to receive a $10 million investment from Shelby County next year.

Since September, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, backed by a number of county commissioners and community members, has been leading the charge to generate dedicated funding for MATA.

Harris’ proposal to generate the funds would have implemented an annual fee of $145 for a household’s third vehicle. Early this year two county commissioners presented an alternate plan that would have increased the countywide motor vehicle tax, also known as the wheel tax, by $20 for every vehicle owner.

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But in the midst of a pandemic and economic uncertainty, both plans have been thwarted. Now, Harris is proposing to increase the wheel tax by $16.50 but to supplement the county’s budget.

“Given the financial situation of the city and the county as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I don’t think the county is going to move forward with that plan, at least not for this next fiscal year,” Rosenfeld said.

MATA was planning to use the additional funds to make major improvements along the agency’s core routes that would have increased service frequency.

With these improvements, Rosenfeld said 80 percent of riders would have been able to get from point A to point B in less than an hour. “Well that’s going to be on hold for a bit, and that’s unfortunate. As we plan to bring routes back on line in the future, we will be looking to make changes to bring our routes in line with the transit vision plan. Any opportunity we get to move in that direction, we will certainly be doing that.”

On Board

Rosenfeld said the level of service MATA is able to provide is being affected by the pandemic, but the agency is doing its best to meet passengers’ needs. 

Per city guidelines, which heed the advice by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 10 passengers are allowed on MATA buses at a time.

“There’s still social distancing issues, and that puts a limit on the resources available to provide service to the community,” Rosenfeld said. “We’re having to run three or four buses to provide the same level of service that one or two buses did before. That’s also additional costs.”

Rosenfeld said he believes MATA has been “fairly successful” at filling the gaps with extra buses to shorten wait times and maintain continuity of service.

Typically carrying about 22,000 passengers in a given day, MATA has had between 7,000 and 8,000 passengers a day since the pandemic began. Rosenfeld said these numbers are similar to other transit agencies across the country since COVID-19 has caused ridership to decrease: “So from a statistical standpoint, we’re doing good.”

Still he knows service hasn’t been “100 percent accurate” and is aware that customers are frustrated.

“Have we received complaints from the public that they don’t like the route network in its current form?” Rosenfeld said. “Certainly, we have. We share that frustration with customers in the fact that we have had to limit our core network. We also fully understand that it’s frustrating to have a bus pass when there are ten people on a bus already and you can’t get on.

[pullquote-2]“However, the safety of passengers and employees is of greater concern to us. We’re making these decisions with their safety in mind. It may not necessarily be with their convenience in mind, but it certainly is with their safety.”

Rosenfeld also urges employers to recognize some of the inconveniences that transit riders are facing now and be understanding.

Preparing for the Future

From fare boxes to reopening its transit centers, Rosenfeld said MATA has a lot to consider as it returns to “normal.”

“When we resume fare collection, what is that going to look like?” Rosenfeld said. “The fare box will still be something that everybody is touching and it’ll be taking money that’s dirty. So we’re reviewing what that will look like. What technology is available to enable us to be able to collect fare safely.”

MATA is also looking at how to change the seating configuration on its buses so that passengers can practice proper social distancing, while also considering what type of barriers can be installed on board to protect bus operators.

“We’re looking at all of these things and trying to gain as much information as possible,” Rosenfeld said. “I’d be foolish to say I know what tomorrow is going to bring. There’s a lot of information out there. Rules keep changing. We do a lot of work to find out the guidance has changed and now the end zone is in a different place.”

Rosenfeld said this is one reason why MATA has to take a cautious approach, especially when it comes to how to allocate the CARES funds.

“If we invest it too quickly, we might find that we are overspending on one thing and not spending enough on something else,” he said.

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News The Fly-By

Week That Was: Coronavirus Hot Spots, Graduations, and Clean Water

Map shows coronavirus concentration, colleges seek alternative graduation plans, groups want to postpone water permits

Commencement Canceled
The coronavirus pandemic has upended all parts of life and halted plans here, around the country, and across the globe — from weddings to funerals to long-awaited graduation ceremonies.

Thus, colleges in the Memphis area have begun looking at alternative ways to celebrate their seniors. Those alternatives include virtual ceremonies, in-person ceremonies at a later date, or combined spring 2021 ceremonies.

Travel Distance
Travel distance in Shelby County was among the top in the country on Friday, according to a report by The New York Times.

Using anonymous cell phone data from 15 million people, The Times released a report on Thursday morning showing travel patterns in every county in the country.

On Friday, March 27th, residents of Shelby County traveled an average of 2.5 miles (see below). It’s 12th on the list of average travel distances in counties with more than 500,000 residents. Florida had the most counties listed, followed by Utah, California, and Oklahoma.

Call 311
What can you do if you see someone violating the city’s Safer at Home order?

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said Memphians can call 311 to report violations of the order.

Dan Springer, chief media affairs officer for the city, confirmed that this order also applies to private gatherings at residences. If a neighbor witnesses a gathering or disregard of social distancing guidelines, they can call 311, and Memphis Police Officers or other city employees will respond.

Coronavirus Hot Spots
New data from the Shelby County Health Department shows the county’s highest concentrations of coronavirus are in Cordova, East Memphis, and South Memphis.

The ZIP codes with the highest coronavirus are 38106, 38108, 38028, 38119, 38120, and 38109 — all with between 28 and 40 cases each. Downtown and Midtown ZIP codes have between 12 and 20 cases.

Mental Health Help
Shelby County employees will now have access to unlimited virtual counseling services, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris announced last week.

The expansion of employee benefits will allow all county employees to receive video, phone, or in-person counseling for free, regardless of if employees are insured through the county.

Art Funds
ArtsMemphis is allocating $50,000 to provide funding to artists most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and its economic consequences.

The flexible funding will be used to help in recovering from lost income due to canceled events, job layoff, or furlough. Applications are being accepted from self-employed artists of all arts disciplines as well as artists employed or contracted by nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Shelby County.

Artists may request up to $500 to compensate for work that was scheduled or contracted and canceled or lost. The fund is not available to compensate for potential future loss of business or income.

Essential Service
With a smaller staff and a slightly different set of operating procedures, CHOICES, one of two clinics in the city that performs abortions, is still open and providing services.

Katy Leopard, assistant director of CHOICES, said the clinic’s call volume has been up, some staff members are working from home, and the clinic has had to decrease the number of patients it sees, but services will continue. CHOICES’ main focus, she said, has been to provide the essential services patients need, while ensuring that staff and patients remain safe and healthy.

Job Loss
The Memphis metro area could lose around 20 percent of all jobs due to the coronavirus, according to a new report from the Brookings Institute.

The report analyzed metros from across the country, predicting which ones would be hardest hit by the pandemic. Not all areas will be hit the same, according to the think tank. Those with concentrated energy sectors like mining, oil, and gas will likely be hardest hit. Hit hard, too, will be metros with concentrations of transportation, employment services, travel arrangements, and tourism (like Memphis).

Coronavirus Projections
About 1,067 Tennesseans will die from coronavirus.

Tennessee won’t run short of hospital beds or ICU beds during the coronavirus pandemic, and the state can expect to see 26 deaths per day until a peak of 35 deaths in one day on April 26th.

Those are projections released late last week by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine.

Park Access
The city began limiting access to public parks last week. This comes as hundreds of people have been flocking to city parks as the temperatures rise in the city. Last week, many noticed the large crowds of park-goers and took to social media to express concern.

Strickland moved to limit the number of people in parks, by restricting the number of cars allowed in parks. To aid this effort, Riverside Drive and “as many roads in and around parks that the fire marshal will let me” will close.

Clean Water
Clean-water advocacy groups are asking state officials to postpone new water permits until after coronavirus orders have been lifted here to ensure the public has a say on projects that affect the “lives and lands of Tennesseans.”

State officials can now legally hold meetings electronically. But members of the Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN) and more say public input is vital to decisions that allow permits under the federal Clean Water Act. These permits include permissions to pollute or to alter a stream, river, lake, or wetland.

The request was formalized in a letter to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and members of his administration Monday.

Maintaining Access
Though understanding the need for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) to reduce its service amid the spread of coronavirus, a spokesperson for the Memphis Bus Riders Union (MBRU) still worries how the cuts will limit people’s access to necessary locations in the city.

MATA announced late last month that it would be reducing its service in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the community and the number of businesses across the city that cannot currently operate, due to orders by the mayors of Shelby County and Memphis.

Justin Davis, secretary of the Memphis Bus Riders’ Union, said the group understands MATA’s need to adjust its service hours and coverage for public health reasons, but wants to ensure people are still able to access the services they need.

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News News Blog

MATA to Reduce Service as COVID-19 Spreads, Businesses Ordered to Close

CREDIT: Facebook/MATA

Facebook/MATA

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is reducing its service in response to the spread of COVID-19.

As of Thursday afternoon, there were 198 confirmed cases of the disease in Shelby County.

Beginning Monday, March 30th, MATA will operate its Sunday schedule, along with a few additional routes to essential services every day until further notice. MATA said this is in response to the number of businesses that cannot currently operate due to orders by the mayors of Shelby County and Memphis.

These bus routes will be in service:

Trolleys will operate on the following schedule:

MATAplus paratransit service will be available from 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day, but will only transport passengers to work, medical care, grocery stores, or other essential businesses.

MATA is offering free fare on all of its vehicles until April 30th. Earlier this week, MATA announced a list of social distancing guidelines for riders, including limiting the amount of passengers allowed on each bus. 

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News News Blog

MATA Tightens Social Distancing Guidelines for Riders

CREDIT: Memphis Area Transit Authority

Memphis Area Transit Authority

The Memphis Area Transit Authority is rolling out an updated set of guidelines Tuesday evening as the city’s Stay at Home order goes into effect.

MATA will continue its normal services, but with a few changes on board and at its facilities. The changes will be in effect until April 7th, but could be extended if the city extends the Stay at Home order.

On buses:

・No more than 10 people will be allowed on fixed-route buses and trolley cars at a time

・Every other row on fixed route buses and trolley cars will be blocked to maintain social distance and encourage customers to sit apart

・No more than two passengers on MATAplus paratransit vehicles

・MATA will only transport MATAplus customers to essential destinations, such as work, medical appointments, grocery stores, and pharmacies.

MATA facilities:

・MATA’s headquarters, 1370 Levee Road, is closed to the public

・The trolley facility, 547 North Main, is closed to the public

・The Assessment Center at the Airways Transit Center is closed to the public

・The customer lobby areas and public restrooms at each transit center are closed

・The customer service counters will remain open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

・Customers will be allowed three at a time to access the customer service counters

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News News Blog

MATA Implements Social Distancing Rules on Board, Considers Service Cuts

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Justin Fox Burks

As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the county, the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) rolled out social distancing measures on all of its buses and facilities, while considering service reductions. 

Beginning Sunday, customers were encouraged to use every other seat on fixed-route buses. No more than two passengers are allowed on MATAplus paratransit vehicles, including personal care attendants.

MATA also closed its Assessment Center, as well as the lobby and public restrooms at each of its transit centers until further notice. However, the customer service counters at the centers will remain open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. But security officers will allow only three people in the building at a time to access the customer service counters.

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The agency also continues to perform daily cleanings and sanitizing of its buses and shelters.

For now, MATA is continuing to operate normal services, but officials are considering service modifications as ridership continues to decline as the number of COVID-19 cases rise in the community.

“Public transportation is a critical service in the community,” a statement from MATA reads. “While it is vital that some levels of public transportation continue since MATA serves customers who may not have access to any other transportation to get to work, to the grocery store, and to healthcare facilities, reducing service is likely unavoidable.”

Gary Rosenfeld, MATA CEO, said the entire public transportation industry is feeling the financial burdens of COVID-19, but that the agency is “working diligently to continue to operate in a manner that allows for the best service that we can provide at this time.”


Categories
Opinion The Last Word

Make MATA Free: Improve the Lives of Thousands of Memphians

(Photo: Justin Fox Burks)

Last spring I found myself in a position of unimaginable privilege. For the first time in my adult life, I had a car that worked and was paid off. No weird rattles, squeaking brakes, bald tires. I hate the term “adulting” for philosophical reasons, but it was one of those times in my life that made me think “so this is what it’s like.”

Then I started anticipating the inevitable break-in, wreck, or other misfortune that would set me back again and put me in my cosmic place. “Just watch,” I’d say. “Something’s going to fall out of the sky and land on my car because I don’t deserve this.”

A month later, as a chunk of road debris hurtled toward my windshield on I-40, I thought, “Well, there it is.”

Justin Fox Burks

What’s the MATA?

The damage turned out to be minor, but being virtually carless for a couple weeks reminded me how difficult it is to thrive in Memphis without a vehicle. My home and my office are two miles apart, putting me on the road a grand total of 10 minutes a day. I know I have it easy. But I tried to plot a bus route home from work and MATA’s trip planner told me “LOL, walk” — which I did, a couple times. And let me tell you, it sucked! If that’s more optimal than the bus, we’ve got a problem with the bus.

I can shrug and catch an Uber, but someone who has to schlep across town for a $7.25-an-hour job does not have that luxury. The bus ride from Whitehaven to Downtown takes about an hour one-way, not including the wait. Anyone who doesn’t have access to a car has their opportunities limited by the number of hours in a day. I’m heartened by the county mayor’s commitment to transit equity, and I’d love to see MATA viewed less as the nuisance in the right lane on Poplar and more as a reliable way to get around. Improving and expanding service are obviously high priorities for increasing ridership, but there’s one more way to get people to hop on.

The New York Times last month published a story about a growing trend in cities that have seen bus ridership increase up to 60 percent. All they had to do was waive the fare. Should Memphis try something similar? Yes, it sounds counterintuitive, as the city and county look to infuse more money into MATA, not less. But public transportation can’t work unless it’s an option for everyone, versus the only option for some. There are two ways to do that: Make it convenient, and make it affordable. $1.75 a ride seems affordable, until you factor in the time investment and the fact that $70 a month does not fit everyone’s definition of “affordable.”

“Oh, but who will pay for it?” Let’s just get this out of the way: the same people who pay for every other public good. I have little patience for those who bristle at paying for services they don’t use, as if we could allocate our taxes to the projects we care about. I don’t have kids, and my house hasn’t burned down yet, but here I am, still dutifully paying for schools and the fire department. If you live in Cordova and have never seen a bus, I’m sorry to hear it — but you chose the Germantown Parkway lifestyle, friend. And you’re contributing to the road congestion and pollution that better public transit would solve.

Actually, that makes a pretty good case for a toll. How about, say, $1.75 each way for commuters on 240 and 385? While cities that waived bus fares saw an increase in ridership, they didn’t see a decrease in the number of cars on the road. This is because people who ride the bus generally don’t have cars. Such is the case in Memphis, where bus riders typically live in poorer neighborhoods. Why should they pay to be part of the solution?

In addition to the wheel tax the county commission is considering, there are other car-centric ways to fund free transit. On any given day in Midtown, the city could make a boatload ticketing cars parked illegally on the street — too close to the corner, in no-parking zones, in front of fire hydrants. Maybe some incentives could encourage businesses to dig in and support a transit fund. Who knows? It’s not impossible to make transportation a right, not a privilege.

Jen Clarke is a digital marketing specialist and an unapologetic Memphian.

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News News Blog

Mayor Harris: ‘It’s Time to Seal the Deal’ on Transit Funding


The conversation about adequate funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) continued Tuesday — a day deemed Transit Equity Day.

Transit Equity Day 2020, which marks the 106th birth anniversary of Rosa Parks, is a collaborative effort by several organizations and unions across the country to promote public transit as a civil right and strategy to combat climate change.

Here, the Sierra Club Chickasaw Group organized a press conference to speak on the importance of transit and the barriers that are still in place and limiting residents’ — particularly those of color and those living in low-income areas — access transit.

This comes as the Shelby County Commission considers a strategy to invest dedicated funding in MATA. The discussion began in September when Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris proposed a $145 sustainability fee for households with more than three vehicles. Now, the county commission is considering a $20 wheel tax increase.

Marquita Bradshaw, Environmental Justice Chair for the Sierra Club Chickasaw Group spoke of transit and environmental justice Tuesday: “Transit equity has everything to do with environmental justice.”

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“Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies,” Bradshaw said. “Transit equity is a plan to justly transition away from climate change. The root of climate change is pollution. People with lower incomes not only have problems accessing transit to get to work, but they also deal with the burden of pollution.”

Allison Donald of the Memphis Center for Independent Living, also at Tuesday’s press conference, said Memphis is at a “pivotal point” as it relates to funding transit.

“We must understand on the 106th birthday of Rosa Parks, that transit justice is not a new fight, not only for Memphis but for other underserved communities around the country,” Donald said. “Funding for public transportation is necessary not only for our city to grow, but it brings businesses, better educational opportunities for underserved children in underserved communities, and it gives people an opportunity to do what communities are supposed to do — connect.”

The most recent resolution to fund transit before the commission is sponsored by Commissioner Brandon Morrison. The proposal includes a $20 increase to the vehicle privilege that would generate $12.8 million. Of that $9 million would go to MATA and the remaining $3.8 million would support the hiring of 51 new sheriff deputies in areas soon to be de-annexed from Memphis.

In January, the commission voted to delay voting on the resolution, sending the proposal back to the commission’s general government committee. The commissioners decided at that meeting to send the measure to an ad hoc committee.

In order for the wheel tax proposal to pass, at least nine members, or two-thirds of the Shelby County Commission, must vote in favor of the move at two consecutive meetings.

Harris, who was at Tuesday’s press conference said securing the funding is a “huge challenge,” but he believes the resolution is close to garnering the nine votes it needs to pass.

“I think it’s time to seal the deal,” Harris said. “How do we seal the deal from here? We’ve got to get that ninth vote. We feel like we’re sitting at a soft eight and we need that ninth vote. We’re working real hard to build comfort with the commissioners so that we can get to a place where at least nine commissioners are prepared to vote on dedicated funding for transit.”

Some commissioners maintain that their constituents, mainly those living in the suburbs, don’t support the increase as they don’t use public transit and won’t benefit from increased funding for it.

“There’s a benefit to all of us from transit,” Harris said. “We’re trying everything except for the kitchen sink to try and identify that ninth vote. We think we’re on the way. We have a great case that’s been made and a broad coalition. We trust that the commissioners will see we can’t be about just talking about issues. We have to be about action.”

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Harris said with upwards of $10 million invested in MATA each year, there will be over one million new transit rides generated.

Courtney McNeal with Innovate Memphis, who worked closely with MATA to develop the Transit Vision Plan, said a key focus when creating the plan was job accessibility.

With the implementation of the Transit Vision Plan, McNeal said there would be a 39 percent increase in job accessibility within an hour for all residents, a 45 percent increase for minority residents, and a 49 percent increase for residents living in low-income neighborhoods.

MATA CEO Gary Rosenfeld said his group “stands ready” to implement the Transit Vision Plan, which “goes so far in delivering quality service and opportunity to the community as a whole.”


Last month, the mayor set an informal, 30-day deadline for the passage of a resolution to fund MATA, but it does not look like the commission will make that deadline. 



Now, the the $20 wheel tax and other funding options for MATA are being discussed in a series of six ad hoc committee meetings, co-chaired by Commissioners Tami Sawyer and Mick Wright. The committee has been tasked with returning to the commission with recommendations about how to move forward.

All meetings run from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and are open to the public. See the dates and locations below.

2/4 – Monumental Baptist Church, 704 S Parkway East

2/11 – Hickory Hill Community Center, 2910 Ridgeway Road

2/18 – Hollywood Community Center, 1560 N Hollywood Street

2/25 – Agricenter International, 105 S. Germantown Parkway

3/10 – Bartlett Senior Center, 5727 Woodlawn Street

3/35 – Golden Gate Cathedral, 3240 James Road

Categories
News News Blog

Video: Bus Rider Discusses Transit Funding, Challenges, and More

Video: Bus Rider Discusses Transit Funding, Challenges, and More


The Flyer caught up with Justin Davis, secretary of the Memphis Bus Riders’ Union (MBRU), this week to learn more about the union’s work and the transit issues it strives to address.

We met at Memphis Rox Climbing Gym on McLemore and made our way to a nearby bus stop. It drizzled a little as we stood at the uncovered bus stop. Davis used the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA)’s TransLoc app to track when the next bus would arrive.

After waiting about 15 minutes, the 17 McLemore bus arrived on time. Davis said it’s not unusual for buses to arrive ten minutes early, ten minutes late, or occasionally not arrive at all.

We each put $3.50 in the fare box and received a one-day pass.

There was just one other person on board when we boarded the bus. The passenger chatted back and forth with the driver as if she was a regular on the route.

Davis and I settled in the back of the bus. The bus was clean other than a few food wrappers on the floor. And other than the occasional roar from the engine, the ride was quiet. We rode down residential streets through South Memphis and then down Lamar, picking up a few more passengers, before arriving at the American Way Transit Center about 20 minutes later.

Half a dozen more passengers got on there, including an older man with shopping bags, a younger man dressed in a work uniform with a lunchbox in tow, and a teenage boy carrying nothing but a phone.

The transit center is where many riders come to make connections to other routes, Davis said.

As Davis and I rode, we talked about the bus riders’ union’s efforts to advocate for better transit in the city, transit and poverty, dedicated funding for MATA and the proposed wheel tax, and other issues that regular bus riders face every day. Check out the video at the top to hear what Davis had to say.

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

County Mayor Harris Asserts 30-Day Goal for Passage of MATA Funding Proposal

CREDIT: JB

JB

At weekend gathering, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harri repeats vow to secure passage of wheel tax add-on to provide county funding for MATA. Also pictured are members of the Tommy Van family, hosts for the affair, and Lexie Carter, a co-sponsor of the event.

At its regular monthly meeting on Monday, the Shelby County Commission will take one more crack — the crucial one — at adding $20 to the current county wheel tax in order to contribute roughly $10 million to the operation of the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA). On the eve of the vote, County Mayor Lee Harris set an informal deadline of 30 days to achieve a successful outcome for the proposal, which needs 9 votes and netted a maximum of 5 votes on Wednesday in preliminary voting in committee.

Harris mentioned the 30-day figure in conversation at a Saturday night fundraiser in his honor in Lakeland. “Either we pass it outright on Monday, or we’ll find a way to delay the final vote for 30 days,” the Mayor said. “But I predict we’ll get it done.”

The fund-raiser was at the home of Tommy and Monica Van and was primarily a cooperative effort by members of the local Asian and African-American communities. In his remarks to attendees, Harris recapped his argument for the wheel tax add-on as follows:


“There was no more vivid example of the need for increased transit options than a guy named James, an ex-offender. He lives in Frayser, and he finally found a job but, of course, the buses don’t run very frequently on the weekend. And on weekends, instead of missing his shift, he decides to sleep at his job so he can be there the next morning and not miss a shift. So James begged and pleaded that we invest more in transit so he could go home when his shift ends and come back to the job the next day and not have to sleep there.

“And I think about Miss Sarah who said transit is important to her, because she has not had ice cream for years. She says she can’t get ice cream from the grocery store to her house before the ice cream melts. And so she doesn’t buy ice cream anymore.

“So it’s about Miss Sarah and James and Frayser and all the folks who are trying to move around the community and trying to get access to jobs, and trying to create more opportunity for themselves and their family. And that’s the kind of debate I want to have. That’s why I ran for office in the first place. And I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to persuade all parts of this community that these are the right kinds of conversations to have.”

Harris also made reference in his remarks to the currently controversial issue of providing haven for foreign refugees. The mayor held a press conference last week to make public his letter to the U.S. State Department in favor of providing such haven in Shelby County. As he said about that moment on Saturday night:

“We tried to drive a conversation that this community should continue to be a welcoming community for refugees. Refugees, by definition, are individuals who come to this country fleeing persecution, their lives are on the line, and we as a country have the ability to intervene and save families and save lives. And so we should do it. We can try. [Applause]

“Years ago, Shelby County accepted about 400 or so refugees a year that is now down to about three dozen refugees. The United States of America with this heritage of being a beacon of hope around the globe right now. We have around 1% of the world’s refugees in the United States of America, I think we can do a lot better on that score as well. So these are the issues that I’ve talked about, since I’ve been in elected office. They’re not issues that win you a lot of, you know, big business donors per se, but they are issues that matter nonetheless. And so I’ll continue to drive these kinds of conversations for as long as I’m in office.”

Categories
News News Blog

Business Leaders Make the Case for Funding MATA

CREDIT: Memphis Area Transit Authority

Memphis Area Transit Authority

The Shelby County Commission spent most of Wednesday morning discussing how and why to invest in the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA).

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, who first began this conversation with the commission in September, along with leaders in the Memphis business community, discussed Wednesday how investing $10 million in transit would boost the economy here.

Harris has said that Shelby County has about 16,000 unfilled jobs and that his proposed $10 million investment would help Memphians get to those jobs, while having an economic impact of $40 million on the county.

Wednesday, Harris didn’t detail how exactly the projected $40 million impact was calculated. Instead, he and business leaders spoke broadly of the need for better transit in order to strengthen the business community here.


Beverly Robertson, president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, said last year the chamber did an UpSkill summit, aimed at preparing 10,000 residents for the workforce.

“But that is for naught if those folks don’t have adequate transportation to get to those jobs,” Robertson said.

Willie Gregory, director of global community impact for Nike, also spoke to the commission, saying that a more effective transit system is a “real need” for the community.

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“I want to affirm that a more effective transit system is a real need not only for the community, but for our basic business community,” Gregory said. “It’s an issue that we really need to figure out, and we don’t have much time to figure it out. As we attract more industries and businesses in Memphis, we have to have a plan to get our talent to jobs. It’s a right-now issue. It’s impacting real working families in our community who are trying to pay the bills, and businesses of all sizes trying to keep their doors open.”

FedEx executive Richard Smith said FedEx is the largest employer in Memphis, and investment in public transportation is vital to business and community growth. And “if done the right way,” he said, “has a proven return on investment on the community.”

Smith said last year FedEx held a recruitment event for 350 high school seniors from Shelby County. According to the recruiters, Smith said, nearly half of those students reported they would need to find a reliable way to get to work.

“Lack of transportation is the biggest challenge for these potential workers,” Smith said.

With more funding for transit, Smith said he hopes that MATA will work closely with FedEx to address the needs of its employees. For example, Smith said those working the night shift in FedEx hubs need a reliable way to get home when their shift ends at around 3 in the morning.

Jason Little, CEO and president of Baptist Memorial Health Care, said the hospital network has about 9,000 employees in Memphis, and, for many of them, transportation serves as a barrier. Based on a survey of employees, Little said it takes most employees using transit between two and three hours to get to and from work each day.

“They’re saving lives while spending three hours getting to work and three hours getting home from work,” Little said. “I just think we can do better. This is a real concern that Baptist certainly takes seriously.”

Little spoke specifically of one operating room employee, who he referred to as Ms. Lucy. Lucy has worked at Baptist for 45 years, Little said, and rides the bus every day.

“When she gets off at work at 4 o’clock, she waits an hour for the bus to come to Baptist at 5 so that she can begin her journey home,” Little said. “By the way, because what we do is life and death, we require our team members to be on time. When you work in the operating room, at times you get called in, even on weekends. There is a bus that runs to Baptist during the week, but not on Sundays. So when Ms. Lucy is called in on Sunday, she has to begin to scramble for other means.”

Members of the commission agreed that an investment in transit is necessary but disagreed over the mechanism to generate the funds.

As of now, there are two options on the table: Harris’ proposal of a $145 vehicle registration fee for each household’s third car and beyond and the resolution brought by three commissioners to increase the countywide wheel tax by $20.

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Some commissioners were wary about an increased wheel tax.

One of the concerns was the cap on funds going to MATA. Per the resolution, any funds collected that exceed $9 million would go to the county’s general fund. Commissioner Amber Mills suggested that there be no cap on the funds allocated to MATA, but the commission voted that amendment down. Earlier in the discussion, Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. expressed concerns on behalf of his constituents about the excess money, saying it would be added to a “county slush fund.” Ford said he can’t support the resolution “the way it is written.”

Another concern voiced by the commission is the ambiguity around the amount of revenue this increased wheel tax would produce and what MATA would use the additional funds for.

Gary Rosenfeld, president and CEO of MATA, briefly addressed the latter concern, saying the funds would first be used to address issues such as MATA’s bus driver shortage and facility improvement needs.

The commission moved to exclude residents making under $30,000 from the $20 increase, based on a recommendation by Commissioner Tami Sawyer, one of the resolution’s three sponsors.

The amended resolution will move to the full commission meeting on Monday with a favorable recommendation. Per state law, the resolution would need to receive a two-thirds majority vote to pass.