Justin Fox Burks
After discussions with the Memphis City Council, the Memphis Bus Riders Union, Citizens for Better Service, and the Boxtown Neighborhood Association, the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) announced that fixed route service will be resuming formerly retired routes.
The Route 6 Northaven, 31 Firestone, and 38 Boxtown will resume effective Monday, September 14th. The routes had been temporarily reduced in response to COVID-19.
Route 6: Weekday service only, frequency every 45 minutes from 5:40-9 a.m. and 3:15-6:15 p.m.
Route 31: Weekday service only, frequency every 35 minutes from 6-8 a.m. and 3:15-6:15 p.m.
Route 38: Weekday service only, frequency every 90 minutes from 5:30 a.m.-7 p.m.
The resumption of routes comes amid a push by MATA to implement a new on-demand micro-transit project in Boxtown, Westwood, and parts of Whitehaven in 2021. The project’s goal is to improve access to its fixed route service and combat declining ridership.
During the announcement, MATA also revealed that they would be making general service improvements. MATA plans to go into detail on the extent of the improvements via public virtual meetings occurring on September 8th and 12th.