Tag: Memphis Area Transit Authority

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MATA Chooses New General Manager

Ron Garrison

  • Ron Garrison

Ron Garrison, the head of customer service for a South Carolina-based manufacturer of electric buses, was tapped to become the new general manager of the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) at Tuesday night’s MATA board meeting.

Garrison, who currently works for Proterra, will succeed retired MATA general manager Will Hudson, who worked in various roles at the transit authority for 49 years. In the interim, Tom Fox has been serving in MATA’s lead role. MATA’s board started with a list of 13 candidates and narrowed it down to five. Fox was included in the top five, but Garrison ultimately won the vote.

Before working at Proterra, Garrison led the transit system in Tallahassee, Florida. Garrison will be under a three to five year contract.

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News The Fly-By

Green Means Go

CREDIT: Chris Shaw

Imagine having a magical car with the ability to make red lights turn green as you approach, essentially allowing you to cruise down Poplar from Germantown to downtown unencumbered by traffic signals.

That dream may never happen for car drivers, but it’s now a reality for Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) bus operators on the Poplar corridor. This morning, MATA unveiled its new Poplar Avenue Priority Signal project that can shave off around 20 percent of travel time for bus riders on that route.

Sensors on the buses signal to the traffic lights when buses are about 30 seconds away from the light or about 400 feet away, whichever comes first. If the light is already green, it will typically remain green for the bus to pass through. When the bus doors are open, the sensors are disabled so the light isn’t left on green as passengers enter or exit.

“There’s GPS on every bus, and that sends a coordinating signal to tell how fast the bus is traveling, sending an estimated time of arrival to the intersection,” said Craig Carroll of Global Travel Technologies, which provided the technology for the joint project between MATA and the City of Memphis.

It doesn’t work every time, however. Last week, members of the media were given a tour of the new technology as they rode on a bus along Poplar from Kirby to Perkins. On both the east and west journeys, the bus was stopped by a red light at White Station. And on the way east, it was also stopped at Truse Parkway and Mendenhall.

“Pedestrian crossings can interfere,” Carroll explained. “It doesn’t always give a green light or extend a green light. But it will swing you green where it can.”

Tests on the new technology revealed a 15 to 20 percent average reduction in travel time for buses traveling along Poplar.

Although the Poplar project is the first one to be completed, a priority signaling project on Elvis Presley will be unveiled soon. MATA has installed the sensors along Elvis Presley, but the city engineering office still has to complete some work on the project. Currently, sensors on Elvis Presley from Union to Brooks are working, and signals from Brooks to the Mississippi state line are in the works.

Sensors have been installed on 140 buses and at 40 stop light intersections. The transit priority signal project was funded by a $1 million grant and took about 12 months for installation and testing.

MATA’s Interim President and General Manager Tom Fox said the transit authority has plans to install priority signaling along Lamar, Park, Jackson, and Third as well. He said they’re also hoping to eventually stripe dedicated bus lanes on some roads, so MATA can operate rapid transit lines that would get passengers to their destinations more quickly. Fox did say that such dedicated bus lanes would likely not be installed along Poplar since it carries so much car traffic.

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News The Fly-By

New Management

CREDIT: Chris Shaw

When Livable Memphis hosted a meeting last week to discuss what qualities bus riders would like to see in a new Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) general manager, they found that most riders agreed on one thing: They want a manager who rides the bus.

MATA is currently seeking a replacement for retired long-time General Manger Will Hudson, who started as a bus driver in 1964 and worked his way up to president and general manager. Hudson announced his retirement in November.

In the meeting at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library, bus riders also expressed grievances about routes ending in the afternoon before most bus riders clock out for the day and the lack of 24-hour bus routes.

“The bus route that I need stops running at 3 p.m. every day,” one woman said. “Who the hell gets off work at 3 p.m. every day?”

Others complained about the lack of seating and overhead shelter at many city bus stops, as well as a lack of information for non-English speaking bus riders. 

Many echoed concerns that the above-mentioned problems wouldn’t be solved unless a general manager “with a working-class background who has spent their life riding the bus” is chosen, as one member of the audience said.

Chris Shaw

“It’s important for the new leader to have experience riding so they can directly face the challenges that riders encounter,” said Shahin Samiei, secretary of the Memphis Bus Rider’s Union.

Samiei said they also want a manager who will do what it takes to secure public funding for MATA: “We need a leader who is willing to stick their neck out to advocate for public funding. We’ve been seeing cuts for more than five years now from the Memphis City Council, and we need someone who will fight for the dollars needed to run the MATA system effectively.”         

Hudson has said that his successor’s biggest hurdle will be that of securing funding. There is no dedicated source of funding for MATA, and route cuts are common as both the federal government and the city trim their own budgets.

To help choose the next manager, MATA has enlisted KL Executive Search based out of Washington D.C. K&L will compile all input from the meeting last Thursday, as well as input given from the Bus Rider’s Union in previous meetings. From there, the company will present MATA with a list of appropriate candidates. Tom Fox, a MATA employee for more than 20 years, is currently serving as interim president and general manager.

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MATA Changes Routes to Better Reflect Traffic Conditions

The Memphis Area Transit Authority is making some tweaks to the major route overhaul that happened in September.

Beginning December 1st, 11 fixed routes will be adjusted based on traffic conditions and rider concerns and suggestions.

“The major route adjustments made in September have been generally well received as our riders better understand the flow and begin to experience some of the time savings that are possible,” said Tom Fox, Deputy General Manager for MATA. “In the time since the changes in September, we have listened to many customers and are making these adjustments to reflect their concerns and suggestions. Covering ever-changing customer needs requires us to be flexible to change and improvement to meet those needs, and these changes are an example of that.”

The changes will cost MATA an additional $100,000 per year, but that is expected to be made up through adjusting MATA budget by cutting costs in other areas.

Two new routes that were added in September, the 42 and the 46, will have schedule adjustments, frequency increases, and stop additions. Other routes, such as the 57 Park and the 13 Lauderdale, will add stops that have been requested by riders.

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Here are the rest of the changes:

7 Air Park — Add one outbound trip in the am peak beginning approximately 5:00 a.m. The trip will begin at Lamar and Bellevue.

11 Thomas — Route change for Weekday Nights and Sunday. Outbound from the North End Terminal (NET): right on A.W. Willis, left on Thomas, left on Pear, right on North Second/Whitney, left on Dellwood, left on Steele to end of the line at Steele and Corning. Inbound: right on Corning, right on Watkins, right on Frayser, left on Steele, right on Dellwood, right on Whitney/N. Second, left on Pear, right on Thomas, right on A.W. Willis, left on Second, right on Shadyac into NET.

13 Lauderdale — Route change for Weekday and Saturday. Inbound: regular route from Alice & Laramie to Central Station and then right on Front, and right A.W. Willis to the NET. Outbound: left on Shadyac, right on Third, right on Jackson, left on Front to Central Station; leaving Central Station, right on Front, right on G.E. Patterson and continue regular route to the end of the line.

20 Bellevue — Add one inbound trip to downtown in the am peak period beginning approximately 5:00 a.m.

36 Hacks Cross — Route change for Weekday and Saturday. Outbound: Regular route from NET to Union & Pauline, right on Pauline, left on Crump/Lamar and continue regular route to the end of the line at Hack Cross. Inbound: regular route from Hacks Cross to Lamar, right on Somerville/Linden, right on Pauline, and continue regular route to the NET.

39 South Third — Adjust schedule times at timepoints on Western Park branch on Weekday and Saturday.

42 Crosstown — Adjust schedule times to add four minutes to run time of each trip. Slight increase in frequency. Eliminate am and pm peak period trips serving Job Corps Center. See route 46-Whitehaven for replacement service.

46 Whitehaven — Name changed from 46-Whitehaven Flyer. Route change for Weekday. Serve all stops along the route instead of only selected stops and serve the Jobs Corps Center in Whitehaven. Inbound: Job Corps Center at McAlister, left on Millbranch, right on Winfield, right on Elvis Presley/Bellevue and continue regular route to NET. Outbound: regular route to Millbranch & Winfield, straight on Millbranch, and right on McAlister to Job Corps Center.

52 Jackson – Route change for Weekday, Saturday and Sunday. Outbound: regular route from NET to Austin Peay, right on Covington Pike to end of the line at Wal-Mart. Inbound: from Covington Pike, right on Yale, left on Austin Peay, and continue regular route to the NET.

53 Summer — Route change for Weekday and Saturday. On trips that serve Binghampton, the loop will operate the same as Night and Sunday loop. Outbound: regular route from NET to Tillman, right on Tillman, left on Johnson, left on Holmes, right on Summer, and continue regular route to the end of the line. Inbound: regular route from the end of the line to Summer & Holmes, left on Holmes, right on Johnson, right on Tillman, left on Summer and continue regular route to the NET.

57 Park — Route change for Weekday, Saturday and Sunday. Inbound: from the end of the line (St. Francis or Kirby Road), regular route to Lamar, right on Lamar, left on Harbert, right on Bellevue, right on McLemore, regular route to the end of the line. Outbound: regular route from Benford & Davant to McLemore & Bellevue, left on Bellevue, right on Lamar, and continue regular route to the end of the line (Saint Francis or Kirby Road).

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MATA News: Trolley Fire, Will Hudson Retiring

This morning around 10:30 a.m., Trolley #452 on the Madison Line caught on fire near the Bellevue intersection. Nine people and the driver were on board at the time the trolley caught on fire. Passengers reported hearing “a loud pop” near the trolley driver’s area, and the trolley immediately began filling with smoke, according to MATA spokesperson Allison Burton.

All passengers were able to safely exit the trolley. Seven people were transported to hospitals after suffering from smoke inhalation, but none are in critical condition. There’s no word yet on what caused the fire.

The Madison rail line has been temporarily suspended, and MATA will be provided bus service along that route instead. Trolley #452 was built in 1927 and was purchased from New Orleans Regional Transit Authority in 1997. It had been refurbished in 2004.

photo-33.JPG

In other news, MATA president and general manager Will Hudson has announced that he’ll be retiring in January after serving in that role for 20 years. Hudson got his start at MATA as a bus driver 49 years ago. Hudson is the first African-American president of MATA. Under his leadership, MATA reconstructed Central Station downtown and constructed the trolley’s Riverfront Loop and Madison Line, among other projects.

Will Hudson

  • Will Hudson