Tag: MATA

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News The Fly-By

MATA Reduces Bus Fares for Students, MLGW Defers High Bills Through August

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) began reducing bus fares for all Shelby County School students on August 8th, the first day of classes.

“It is important that we are able to help parents send their children off to school at a reduced cost and improve their access to public transportation,” said Ron Garrison, CEO of MATA.

The annual reduced student fare is $1.35 per one-way bus trip. Students may also purchase daily passes ($2.75), seven-day passes ($13), or a month-long ($40) MATA FastPass unlimited ride card.

Students must present a MATA identification card with their name, school, age, and photo to receive a discounted fare when boarding the bus. MATA advises students to bring two forms of identification and $3 to the William Hudson Transit Center at 444 N. Main Street to purchase an identification card. Students who bring a parent only need one form of identification. State or school identification cards, birth certificates, insurance cards, Social Security cards, or report cards qualify.

The transit authority will provide identification cards Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. until September 30th. Following that date, MATA will provide identification cards Mondays through Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m on Saturdays.

“MATA is pleased to continue to offer reduced bus passes for students to ride,” Garrison said.

MATA lowers fares for students.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) will ease its deferred billing rules through August to prevent customers with high bills from having their utilities disconnected.

“The major benefit is, during these extreme temperatures, MLGW has a payment plan that will offset our customers from having their services disconnected for non-payment,” said Gale Jones Carson, MLGW’s director of corporate communications. “If you can’t pay the total amount, we’ll work with you during these temperatures.”

Customers eligible for the loosened billing rules must have a bill that exceeds at least $250. They will pay 25 percent of the owed amount or $250, whichever is less, and the remainder will go on a payment plan that lasts up to five months. Should the deferred billing payment surpass a monthly $500 balance, customers may establish a payment plan for up to nine months. A current and approved residential service agreement must be filed before making an arrangement. Customers who qualify can bring two forms of identification to any of MLGW’s five community centers.

“Normally, customers only have three months to pay they bill, and the balance has to be a minimum of $500,” Carson said.

The relaxed deferred billing rules are different from MLGW’s weather-related moratorium policy. That policy states they won’t disconnect services for residential customers due to non-payment under the following conditions: The forecast wind chill factor will be 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below freezing for 24 hours or longer. The forecast heat index will be 100 degrees Fahrenheit or above at any time during a 24-hour period. The forecast heat index will be 95 degrees Fahrenheit or above at any time in a 24-hour period for customers 60 years or older, physically challenged, or customers dependent on life-support.

“We do this every year when the weather gets extremely cold or extremely hot,” Carson said. “We do this to help customers avoid having their services disconnected for non-payment. When the weather gets extreme, we focus on not cutting services off.”

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News The Fly-By

MATA President Won’t Give Start Date for Trolley System

CREDIT: Joshua Cannon

The good, the bad, and the confusing: That seemed to be Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) President Ron Garrison’s theme when he provided new details — but no start date — on the progress of the trolley system’s rehabilitation.

“It’s all about telling the truth,” Garrison said at a trolley update meeting last week at Leadership Memphis. “It’s not easy work. There’s no way to do it any faster while doing it safely. Everything we’re doing will make it so that we are the standard for the rest of the country. That’s the standard the Federal Transit Administration is holding us to, and that’s a very good thing. When you get on the trolleys, you’ll be safe.”

Since two fires on the Madison Line shut the trolley system down in June 2014, MATA has taken steps to implement an updated system. Funding shortfalls, however, and a lack of experienced workers have stalled the process. But, as MATA enters a six-phase plan that will result in 11 certified trolleys being back on line, the transit authority might almost be on track.

Joshua Cannon

Ron Garrison

Garrison, additional MATA representatives, and Memphis congressman Steve Cohen recently met with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) administrator Carolyn Flowers in Washington, D.C. MATA left the capital with $3.3 million to purchase new trolleys. The city of Memphis voted to give MATA $1 million to purchase a trolley as well.

“FTA is doing what they can to help us,” Garrison said. “They are coming here to meet with us in July. They advised me not give a start date even if I had one.”

Reluctance to announce a timeline is in part due to 181 documents that MATA must produce throughout the rehabilitation process. So far, 96 documents have been submitted, but only about 15 are completed.

“They have to go through a certified … national railroad consulting firm, of which we don’t have but need to get,” Garrison said. “Then it goes to FTA, their consultants, and their engineers. Then it goes to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, their consultants, and their engineers. Then it has to go through FTA Safety in Washington D.C., their staff, and their two consultants … Then we have to do it again, it goes out again, it comes back to us again, and we have to finalize it through a safety certification committee.”

Much of the trolley rehabilitation will happen in-house, Garrison said. The trolleys will receive outward-facing doors, new pantographs that will reduce the risk of fires, fireproof insulation, and a safer, low-voltage wiring system. Memphis will be the first in the country to move their entire system to low-voltage wiring, Garrison said.

“Right now, we have two trolleys that have been rehabilitated,” Garrison said. “We’re taking every single aspect of these trolleys and making them like new. From here on out, it would be nearly impossible for anything like what happened to happen in the future. What we’re putting in place will probably be the safest in the country.”

Rehabilitating the trolley’s trucks, which carry the cars along the tracks, is costly. MATA sent eight trucks to be rebuilt off-site, each costing about $47,000. The overall rehabilitation goes hand-in-hand with restructuring the standards of the trolley system. Garrison said MATA’s maintenance staff are being retrained and certified.

At the beginning of each month, MATA will post progress reports to their website until the last document is complete. The transit authority will then perform a four- to eight-week simulated service to ensure the trolleys are safe.

“I came to Memphis to fix this because I believe it’s the right thing to do,” Garrison said. “Memphis has been in my heart since I started coming here in the ’60s. I have a photo of my daughter, who just turned 17 years old, when she was 2 years old on the trolley when Peabody Place was still running. It might be providence.”

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News News Blog

MATA, MPO Create Survey To Improve Bus Stop Standards

The Memphis Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (Memphis MPO) and the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) have partnered to improve the quality of bus stops throughout the city.

Complaints pertaining to bus stop standards prompted the organizations to create a survey. The survey will close on July 31. MPO and MATA will assess the answers and form a new set of guidelines to make the bus stops more comfortable and accessible for citizens. 

Take the survey here. 

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News The Fly-By

MATA Board to Consider Service Changes

Following an announcement from Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) CEO Ron Garrison that the city’s bus system could collapse without additional funding, the transit authority will vote on various service changes as MATA prepares for an upcoming fiscal year looming with uncertainty.

“We are mostly concerned with the future,” said Sammie Hunter, the co-chair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union. “This is nothing compared to what we might face in July if MATA does not receive the funding request they made to the city. People need access to the whole city to have better options and improve their situation.”

Three timing changes, six service changes, eight routing changes, the removal of the President’s Island route (which carried less than five riders for all of February), and five new routes are tucked away in MATA’s proposed changes. MATA’s board will vote on the changes on March 21st, and, if approved, the changes will go into effect on May 1st.

The changes are a cost-neutral plan to address Memphians’ concerns about on-time performance and bus connections while MATA awaits Mayor Jim Strickland’s budget proposal in April.

“Additional funding would negate the need to cut bus service in July 2017,” Garrison said. “Instead, MATA will be able to improve on-time performance and make service more reliable.”

Garrison has been vocal about MATA’s need for increased capital funding, as they have relied on capital dollars to satisfy operational needs. When the new fiscal year begins on July 1st, Garrison said MATA would need an increase of $7 million for the operating budget and $5 million in capital funding.

“Not only are we way underfunded, but we have buses that should have been retired years ago — probably to the tune of about 60 buses,” Garrison said. “Some of them have over 700,000 miles. We had to borrow money from the city twice last year and bridge funding we had to pay back just to make payroll.”

The bus rider’s union’s worries center around route cuts and inadequate shelters at the new transfer locations, Hunter said. One proposal would make the Frayser Plaza Shopping Center a major connection point. Hawkins Mill Route 18, a new feeder route, would replace the north end loop on Crosstown Route 42, which has the second highest ridership, according to Hunter.

“Without increasing service and building adequate shelters at these new transfer locations, folks will be waiting for their transfers out in the elements,” Hunter said. “Those who can only afford a one way pass will be forced to pay twice as much as they normally pay per day or walk the rest of the way.”

MATA touts 9.3 million passenger trips per year and currently operates 109 buses. Justin Workman, a 31-year-old food industry worker, has relied on the bus system since the age of 18. Scheduling a trip across town is often unpredictable, Workman said.

“The routing and scheduling make it nearly impossible to rely on it as a sole means of transportation,” Workman said. “Try to take a bus to Wolfchase Galleria from downtown or Midtown — I hope you have the entire day.”

The bus system could see a few positive changes by the end of year with MATA’s Short Range Transit Plan, which was announced last week. It would streamline routes, add express service, and make the system easier to navigate and understand, and they say those changes can be made without significantly increasing operating costs.

But, overall, MATA’s service will abate or improve based on the city budget when the clock restarts this fiscal year, Hunter said. Solutions, such as having Shelby County chip in, he says, need to be addressed.

“The city has got to look at its budget with compassion for the working class people,” Hunter said. “No amount of police or downtown development will solve the problems we have. We can start by allocating the funds to MATA that it needs to make it through this fiscal year without more cuts. Then we can look at long-term solutions.”

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News News Blog

MATA To Revamp Bus Service

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) and the city have agreed upon a short-range transit plan that they say will improve service and make the system easier to understand and use.

The plan calls for MATA to straighten out routes to increase the frequency of bus service. They also plan to add several express routes linking downtown with the eastern parts of Shelby County. MATA and the mayor’s office have agreed that the improvements in the short-range plan can be made without significantly increasing operating costs, and they should be in place by the end of the year.

“It’s essential that we have a solid transportation plan that allows people to get to work on time and helps the city recruit businesses to Memphis,” said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.

Additionally, MATA is studying world-class transit systems in other cities to determine the best long-range plan for Memphis transit.

This announcement comes just weeks before MATA plans to cut some underused routes and redirect others. A public hearing on those cuts was held at Central Station on Tuesday, and the MATA board of directors will vote on those cuts at the end of the month. 

At a Memphis City Council meeting last month, MATA President Ron Garrison said the bus system would “collapse” unless the agency was able to get additional operating funds and capital to buy new buses.

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News The Fly-By

MATA Plans Trolley Return

CREDIT: Memphis Area Transit Authority

While the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is building a trolley system “that will never allow anything unsafe to happen again,” its leaders say they are working even harder on procuring new buses to replenish its aging fleet.

Two weeks ago, the Memphis City Council approved MATA’s purchase of a fully restored trolley that looks identical to MATA’s familiar, larger trolleys. The price tag was just north of $950,000, but the council also allowed MATA access to its full, current-year trolley budget of $2.25 million.

MATA president Ron Garrison said the move will leverage the $2.25 million into the equivalent of $11 million to purchase three or four trolley cars, after a set of funding maneuvers through state and federal channels.

Memphis Area Transit Authority

MATA has purchased this rebuilt, vintage trolley to add to its fleet.

Limited rail trolley service could begin again here, he said, with a couple of trolleys working in conjunction with the trolley buses. Those buses could be retired if MATA had 10 rail trolleys up and running, Garrison said.

MATA has the resources to rebuild or buy “nine, maybe 10” trolleys at present, he said. To operate at full capacity, the Memphis trolley rail system requires 20 trolleys.

Trolleys are just one piece of the overall fix for the Memphis rail system. The other pieces are parts of the rail system itself. Garrison said since the trolley system was closed in 2014 after two trolley cars caught fire, MATA has repaired and upgraded portions of the trolley tracks, the catenary lines that run over the trolleys and provide them power, and power stations along the entire rail system.

“What we’re putting in place is a system that will never allow anything unsafe to happen again,” Garrison said. “What we’re putting in place is what the rest of the country will look to when they want to do vintage trolley start-ups.”

Garrison said he’d like rail trolleys to run again here this spring but said “it’s going to be much longer than that,” noting it would be “foolhardy” to come up with a date for the trolleys’ return.

Over the past few months, members of the Memphis Bus Riders Association (MBRA) and others have voiced frustrations on the perception that MATA has prioritized trolleys over buses.

“Just last month a bus was burning on the news,” said Cynthia Bailey, MBRA co-chair. “You only get so many favors from these legislators, and I’m afraid they’ve been spent getting funds for the trolleys. We don’t see any five-year plan to get millions for these buses like they’ve done for the trolleys.”

Garrison said he’s aware of the criticism, but he said that as hard as MATA is working on getting trolleys, the agency is working even harder to purchase new buses, calling that project “our main goal.”

MATA needs about 55 new buses for its fleet, an order that would cost about $24 million, Garrison said. To get there, Garrison said he’s talked with Mayor Jim Strickland about the need and will soon meet with individual city council members. Also, MATA is investigating new sources of funds to buy the buses.

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News The Fly-By

Transportation Forum Finds Citizens Want More Pedestrian-Friendly City

Crumbling sidewalks, underfunded public transit, and disconnected bike lanes were at the top of the list for Memphians who attended a public forum at the Benjamin L. Hooks Library last week to discuss the transportation needs of the city.

“We need to keep the role of the government in mind,” said Dennis Lynch, the transportation chair for the Tennessee chapter of the Sierra Club, which hosted the discussion. “If the things we’re doing aren’t for the people, they aren’t the right things. We need to push for the things we think we need.”

Attendees brainstormed various ideas to alleviate what many believe is a situation in dire need of a solution. Among the proposals: buses that run on time and to more locations on a frequent schedule; sidewalks and streets that are safe for all citizens; more availability to rent tandem bicycles; for Congressman Steve Cohen to support the local allocation of federal funds and allow more local power over how those funds are spent; and to install more parking meters to encourage people to use public transit as a way to save money.

Lynch said the input would be taken to Mayor Jim Strickland, the Memphis City Council, the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA), and the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Broken, uneven sidewalks and missing curb ramps leave those like Steve Collins, who is disabled and relies on his wheelchair and public transportation, at a disadvantage.

Collins’ route is contained to Poplar, where he’s pinpointed at least 19 “problem spots.” At Poplar and White Station, Collins said there are four corners and only two curb cuts, which forces him to travel into the street.

The issue of damaged sidewalks is not so black and white. In Memphis, property owners are responsible for sidewalk repair. A 1967 city law states that owners of properties abutting any public street are “required to provide and maintain adjacent to his or her property a sidewalk.” The city has made efforts to assist low-income residents, but the problem is still open-ended for Memphians like Collins.

“We have met with the city about this, and they tell us that it is the state’s problem because [Poplar] is a state highway,” Collins said. “The state says it is a city problem because it is Poplar Avenue. My question is this: If I die at that intersection, where does my widow send the bill for the funeral?”

Kyle Wagenschutz, bicycle and pedestrian program manager for the city of Memphis, said obstacles within funding resources, or the lack thereof, can leave “some things waiting in the wings.” Bike lanes, for instance, are routinely added as streets are repaved. However, the city will soon begin construction on a grant-funded project to update more roads with bike lanes.

“These are all roads that are not being repaved but that new bike lanes are going to be installed without repaving,” Wagenschutz said. “All of those were chosen based on the idea of connecting the missing pieces and missing segments of the network.”

Developing dedicated sources to fund MATA is key, said Suzanne Carlson, Innovate Memphis’ transportation and mobility project manager.

“There’s a lack of funding to go around,” Carlson said. “Right now, [MATA] goes to city council and [receives] federal funds. Some are guaranteed, and some are competitive that they might not get every year.”

Though they have continually received budget cuts over the last few years, MATA President Ron Garrison said they are “in the process of rebuilding MATA.” After the 2010 census numbers were released, MATA lost upwards of $1.6 million dollars in federal funding as well as some state funding. But this fiscal year, they have a “tiny bit of money” left over, Garrison said. Additionally, Garrison said MATA is implementing new ideas such as partnering with Uber and TransLoc.

“Over the next two years, you’re going to see tremendous improvements,” Garrison said. “Over the next five years, we can make MATA a great transit system again. We’re fixing on-time performance, changing the culture, and correctly funding our facilities, buses, and transit stops so that our customers have a very positive experience.”

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Opinion The Last Word

Wuz That … ?

CREDIT: GilbertC | Dreamstime.com

When my brother was a little guy, he’d look through the new Sears Wish Book and make his Christmas list. He didn’t write it down, it went more like, “I want everything on these two pages except that. That’s for girls.” As an adult, my list is just as easily made. I’d like to have the freedom of a toddler to run around and look adorable without pants as opposed to being asked to “leave quietly” because I’m “disturbing the other customers in the cheese shop.”

But I am nothing if not a giver, so as I begin making a list of presents I will not buy my family and friends this holiday and instead order something at the last minute from Amazon Prime because, hey, free shipping and no pants, I have also made a list of things I want to give my beloved Memphis. Understand, I’m not offering what you fancy types call “solutions.” This is pure slacktivism. I’m just saying what I want and leaving it up to people who actually know about stuff and how to do it. I’m a facilitator. The ideas guy, if you will.

GilbertC | Dreamstime.com

My first wish is that we find another name for the flyover. That’s what it is, not what it is to us. Your old beater in high school had a name, right? Mine was the Blue Booger. I have proposed to several people that we start calling it the Grinder. We’re the home of the Grindhouse, right? And don’t you grind your teeth into meal when you’re stuck at the junction? I got those sort of blank, polite looks like when a kid in church tells the nice lady next to him that morning his daddy stubbed his toe and screamed, “JESUS HORATIO CHRIST ON A RAFT!” Then, once I drove up it, I decided on the Tower of Terror. Y’all ridden that thing yet? It’s cool as all get out. Just don’t look down. But last night I decided that Memphis should never be without the Zippin Pippin, so we could call it that.

When driving along Winchester, my husband and I play a game I call Wuz That. Wuz that a Circuit City? Wuz that a grocery store? Thousands upon thousands of square feet of empty buildings just sit there. Meanwhile, a show called Memphis Beat was filmed in Louisiana. Work with me here. I’ll tie these things together. I think Memphis should be Movie City. I don’t pretend to understand the problem with giving the film industry the kind of breaks Georgia and Louisiana do, especially since we threw so much cash at another industry that upper management dances around with their tax credits making it rain in the boardroom. Those buildings could be soundstages, post-production, animation, craft services (we are a food city, after all), whatever. Memphis has a few tall buildings to be leapt in single bounds, swampy areas for battle, Rhodes College — especially in fall — looks like the perfect New England school where two awkward nerds can fall in love. Then there are those production facilities I was talking about where giant purple horses can battle blue lizards to colonize Des Moines and turn Americans into Ood-like creatures who wail to communicate. But I don’t want to give too much of my screenplay away.

Cars are on my list, too. Get off the pot and build a damn parking garage for the zoo. At least allow me a bus route there that doesn’t take me to Collierville first. My husband, being a budget- and environmentally-conscious fellow, wanted to commute by bus to work. The commute involves starting in East Memphis, making three turns, and going straight down Getwell a few miles. Most of his commute is a straight shot. Right past a bus terminal. The 8-mile commute takes about 15-20 minutes in the car. By bus? TWO HOURS AND TWO MINUTES. In fairness, there is another route to get him to work by 7:30 a.m. that only takes an hour and 52 minutes. I understand that a public transportation system won’t expand and improve if people don’t use it. I also understand that if it doesn’t expand and improve, people won’t use it. If the Greenline has taught us anything, it’s that if you build it, they will come. And please, for the love of Pete, hurry up and make those trolley tracks of use for something other than getting your bike tire stuck in them and breaking a collarbone. Unless a secret cabal of Memphis’ world-class orthopedic professionals are in cahoots with MATA to shift business their way. I’m all for revenue, and I like secret plans.

Also: Boscos must never ever never take the black bean and goat cheese tamale off the menu. I’m willing to trade renaming the flyover for that one.

Susan Wilson also writes for yeahandanotherthing.com and likethedew.com.

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Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said…

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

About “The Dark Side,” our cover story on fall beers …

The Flyer staff at the end of the day’s tasting:

“I think I can see the air.” — CM

“Who knew the asphalt was so soft? I mean, I’m lying here and it is sooooo sofffftttt.” — AP

“I’M KING OF THE WORLD!!!” — CS

“I could take down Ronda Rousey. She ain’t nothing!” — BP

“F**kin’ lightweights.” — BV

Charlie Eppes

About Bruce VanWyngarden’s Letter From the Editor, “Game Changer in Missouri” …

I think the most important part of the story is in the last couple paragraphs. College athletes hold the majority of the power, and I think this incident is the first real example we’ve had of that in this age of the TV deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I’m sure some similar form of strike will happen soon to get athletes a bigger piece of the pie.

This Missouri thing seems to be a symptom of a much bigger problem with my generation. The millennials in general seem to believe they are entitled to not being offended. The minute someone says or does something that’s slightly off-putting, my generation calls to arms and demands someone be fired, even if that person really had no impact on what was said or done.

Racism sucks. However, I don’t get what they expect the university president to do about some individual actions, some of which were occurring off campus. I guess maybe he should’ve sponsored a few more diversity events. But that wouldn’t do a damn thing to prevent the bigot from doing exactly what he was doing anyway. This is a school that, despite only being seven percent black and despite being filled with a lot of conservative rural kids, did elect a black, gay student body president. This is a university that generally backed Michael Sam. If there are a handful of bigots on campus, how does that make Missouri different from anywhere else in the country?

The real world isn’t a nice place. No one is going to hold your hand, and you’re going to have to deal with ignorant people.

GroveReb84

About Alexandra Pusateri’s story, “Three Sculptures Celebrate Binghampton History” …

I’m all for hiring the best person for a job, but it seems odd that a city that won’t hire better police or fire personnel because they don’t live here keeps contracting public art executed by people with no roots or ties to our city.

ALJ2

Can you imagine a great world-class city only commissioning local artists? With all due respect, your comment is the definition of provincial.

BP

This city is filled with amazing artists. To say that the city is better represented by someone who barely knows the history of the place is insulting to those who invest their lives in this city, to say the least. We’re trying to attract settlers, not locusts.

FUNKbrs

A nice mix is healthy. I’m thankful it doesn’t work the other way around and Memphis artists can compete in other cities. I’d hate to think the ones with skills to throw down on a public scale would be limited to work that’s available locally.

Chris Davis

About MATA …

After living in a medium-size city (150,000 people) in Germany for a number of years, I noticed that their public transportation system outdoes any in the U. S. Make me the czar of MATA!

First, rename the main station; “terminal” is a bad name. Clean the bathrooms. Add a serving counter where one can sit and have a coffee and snacks — there or to go. Keep prices down; a dollar for a canned drink is way too much for poor people who have to ride a bus.

Put in a machine where people can buy bus tickets. (Think Coke machine.) Add a machine to each bus so passengers can swipe their cards at the back door. Duh! And there should be easy-to-read maps of the entire system at all real bus stops.

Finally, print out 10,000 month-long passes, and give them to people waiting in line at unemployment offices. You’re welcome.

Robert Smith

Categories
News The Fly-By

Bus Riders’ Union and Bus Drivers’ Union Team Up

Less than a week after the announced partnership between the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 713 (the local bus drivers’ union) and the Memphis Bus Riders Union (MBRU), Congressman Steve Cohen announced that $2.6 million in federal funds, secured through the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), would be allocated to fund three electric trolleys for downtown Memphis.

Members of the MBRU congregated at their monthly meeting at the Memphis Center for Independent Living said the funding felt like a familiar slap in the face; so familiar, that the funding announcement invoked little surprise, and the discussion quickly refocused to the litany of problems faced by everyday Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) users.

“When you put money [only] downtown where the trolleys are, you’re forgetting about your citizens,” said Cynthia Bailey, outreach coordinator for MBRU. “You’re forgetting about the people who need transportation to get to jobs and destinations.”

The narrative of bus riders and drivers drawing attention to unmet transit needs while money continues to pour into the trolley system is hardly new, but with each announcement of trolley funding, members of both unions have become increasingly desperate to look for solutions.

According to both Bailey and Sammie Hunter, MBRU’s co-chair, the bus riders’ union has little faith left in MATA’s CEO and general manager Ron Garrison, who they said showed initial interest in solving MATA’s problems but has not followed through with solutions.

“We took his word, but I think he’s all about the money instead of the citizens,” Bailey said. Hunter nodded in agreement and added, “I never trusted him from the beginning, and now his true colors are coming out. He’s not about the citizens.”

According to Bailey, if both the MBRU and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 713 (ATU) are able to meet with Mayor-elect Jim Strickland and bypass Garrison, it will be a victory.

“I think [Stickland will] understand us better,” Bailey said. “The ATU has experience with the board on the inside, and we have experience from the riders’ perspective on the outside. If we’re merged together as one organization, it will have a big impact.”

Local 713’s business manager William Barber not only echoes MBRU’s concerns but is also eager that the union merger will erase the long-standing perception of blame-placing that pits the bus drivers against the bus riders.

“What I want our public to realize, is that it’s not drivers against the public, it’s management against the public,” Barber said. “We want everybody to join us, listen to our rally points, get on board with the unions and MATA so we can make this city better for everybody, not just for a certain group of people.”

Barber is also quick to point out that he’s highly in favor of trolley drivers having jobs. “We want everyone to benefit,” Barber said.

Garrison said that he wants to keep an open dialogue with both unions.

“I think to the extent that we can make ourselves available, my staff and I would be happy to sit down with them to work through their concerns. I’ve tried to meet with them a number of times and have,” said Garrison, who noted that there have been no additional funds spent on the trolleys except for specific funds that can only be used on trolleys.

Additionally, the funds recently granted by TDOT could mean that the current buses used in lieu of trolleys on Main could be redistributed to MATA’s fleet.

“I welcome anyone to talk to our mayor, and I would be glad to do that with or without them,” Garrison said. “I would like to partner with them to get additional funds.”