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MATA Launches New Cashless and Reusable Payment Options For Riders

(Credit: MATA)

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) has announced a new reusable and cashless payment option for tickets.

The Next-Generation Collection System GO901 Smart Cards are “modern and easy-to-use smart cards,” that make paying for rides “effortless and faster.” MATA likened these cards to a credit card, with users able to to “tap and ride” on MATA vehicles.

These cards are non-transferrable, and each rider needs their own card.

MATA said these cards offer “balance protection” as well as “online access to manage payment sources, set up auto loads to fund your account automatically, and view your smart card balance and history.”

The GO901 smart card is reusable, and can be used for up to five years from the issue date, according to MATA. Customers may add as little as .50 cents to their cards, with a maximum balance of $200.

“This has been a longstanding goal for the future of MATA,” said Gary Rosenfeld, CEO of MATA. “GO901 Smart Cards are a sustainable and simpler way to connect people to places across the service area. We’re excited to begin this journey.”

According to MATA, GO901 Smart Cards can be secured and loaded on MATA ticket vending machines at their transit centers, or the GO901 app. They can also be loaded on MATA’s website, or at MATA Transit Center Customer Service Counters.

There is also an option to auto-load funds onto these cards through MATA’s customer portal.

MATA also plans to add a network of retail stores where customers will be able to reload their cards in the future, they said.

 Riders will temporarily be able to pay with cash and tickets.

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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.

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Group Supports $20 Transit Fee to Fund MATA, Promote Equity

CREDIT: Maya Smith

Maya Smith

MICAH members gather to support $20 transit fee

Members of the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH) gathered near city hall on Tuesday to show support for a Shelby County Commission resolution that would create a county transit fee to generate funds for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA).

The resolution, sponsored by Shelby County Commissioners Willie Brooks Jr., Tami Sawyer, and Van Turner Jr., is an alternative to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ plan to implement an annual fee of $145 for a households’ third vehicle. That plan, which would generate $10 million in funding for MATA each year, was first introduced by the mayor in September.

The proposed resolution seeks instead to increase the countywide motor vehicle tax, also known as the wheel tax, by $20 for every vehicle owner. The wheel tax was first established in 1987 and was dedicated to repaying the county’s bonded indebtedness. Then, in 2016, the county adopted a resolution mandating that 100 percent of wheel tax revenue be allocated to school operations.

Now, the commissioners seek to increase the wheel tax by $20 for every registered vehicle in the county and use the additional revenue — limited to $9 million annually — to fund MATA. Currently, the tax for a private vehicle is $50. It’s $20 for motorcycles, scooters, and ATVs, $80 for commercial vehicles, and $25 for nonprofit vehicles.

Brittany Thornton, co-chair of MICAH’s economic task force, said this resolution is a reasonable compromise between the mayor’s proposal and MICAH’s suggestion of a $20 to $50 fee on all vehicles. Based on a survey of 225 Memphians, Thornton said MICAH leaders believe that a fee of $20 to $50 is more favorable to citizens than Harris’ proposed $145 on third vehicles. Still, Thornton said MICAH applauds Harris “for even taking on transit.”

“This conversation on transit has been around for a long time and under other administrations, we haven’t even gotten this far,” Thornton said. “So to have a mayor that’s willing to keep the conversation at the forefront of what we’re focused on, we applaud that. We appreciate that. But we want to get the figures that are actually going to set MATA up to do what it needs to do.”

Improving transit plays a huge role in MICAH’s commitment to economic equity, Thornton said, which requires “we work to dismantle the systemic barriers that keep our neighbors from thriving.

“Whether it is being able to get to education and training, arriving on time for a job or an appointment, filling the many third shift job opening that currently MATA hours does not allow, exposing tourists to more of Memphis and all of Shelby County, or reducing the amount of pollution and road wear and tear, Memphis and the metropolitan area’s potential to thrive must include a high-performing transit system.”

Ultimately, Thornton said “sufficiently funding MATA” must be one of the top priorities of local government in order for “any kind of equity to be achieved” in Shelby County.

The resolution stipulates that the allocation of the funds to MATA are contingent on four factors. First, the commission is asking that two members appointed by the Shelby County mayor and approved by the county commission are added to the MATA Board of Commissioners.

Another factor is that MATA creates bus routes that connect to the county’s largest employers. The resolution’s sponsors are specifically seeking a new bus route to the FedEx World Hub.

Additionally, the resolution calls for MATA to reduce the scheduled commute time to the Raleigh and Frayser communities by 50 percent, because economic and job development are underway in the area. Finally, the commissioners are asking that these terms be formally agreed upon in a memorandum of understanding between MATA and Shelby County.

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If approved, the $20 wheel tax increase would go into effect on July 1, 2020. The commission is slated to discuss the resolution Wednesday at 9 a.m. during its General Government committee meeting ahead of its vote on Monday.

Ahead of this discussion, Harris will make a presentation to the committee in support of his plan, explaining the potential economic benefits of investing an additional $10 million in transit each year. There are 16,000 unfilled jobs in Shelby County, according to state data, and Harris contends that improving transit would help fill these jobs.

The mayor also said that an investment of $10 million would have an economic impact of more than $40 million because of expanded job access.

“We currently have over 16,000 jobs available in Memphis, most of which do not require any type of specialized skill,” Harris said in a Tuesday press release. “A large reason for so many open jobs is that too many individuals in our community do not have transportation that they can rely on to get to a job and keep a job. Our residents should be able to get to a job, keep a job, and able to get home from that job in time to have dinner with their family.”

The economy is just one of the “Three E’s” Harris has assured that the $10 million investment would address. In November the mayor told the commission about the environmental benefits the $10 million would lend, such as reducing emissions by the thousands of metric tons. In December, Harris, joined by University of Memphis associate professor Elena Delavega, made the case for public transportation’s role in addressing poverty and equity.

Harris’ administration hopes that the commission will vote on the plan by the end of next month.

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Bus Rider Union: Rapid Bus Route ‘Long Overdue’ Here

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Justin Fox Burks


A leader of the Memphis Bus Riders Union said a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line is “long overdue” in Memphis.

Officials announced earlier this month that the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is receiving a $12 million federal grant to create a rapid bus line here.

The $12 million Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant will partially fund Memphis’ Innovation Corridor, an eight-mile stretch between Downtown and the University of Memphis.

The BRT line, dubbed mConnect, will be the first in the region.

Proposed BRT route


Justin Davis, organizing coordinator for the MBRU said “it’s really important that we’re talking about changing the city’s infrastructure to accommodate transit better and making it easier to use with new stops and new technology.”

However, he said many bus riders are frustrated that most of the recent efforts to improve the city’s transit have been focused in Midtown and Downtown.

“We still have many neighborhoods where service is so unreliable and inaccessible that people can’t even get to Midtown or Downtown in a reasonable amount of time,” Davis said. “Midtown and Downtown already have the most reliable service. We need high-frequency service going north to south and bus routes that directly address the needs of low-income folks, people of color, and people with disabilities.”

Davis said many parts of the MATA system still need “significant repair.” There need to be more conversations about finding a dedicated funding source for MATA. Dedicated funding will give the system “stability,” he said, making the network “better for everyone, not just the people who will benefit from this BRT line right now.”

At a community meeting on Monday, officials revealed details for the project to the public looking to gather feedback. The public has until December 2nd to comment on the project.

Construction on the project is expected to begin in 2021 with service beginning in 2024.

Here are some other preliminary facts about mConnect:

• The route will include 30 modern transit stations that are well-lit, covered, and ADA accessible

• Buses will arrive every 10 minutes during peak hours.

• All of the buses will be electric and equipped with vehicle health monitoring, collision avoidance, and predictive maintenance technology.

• WiFi will be available at the stations and on-board.

• Dedicated bus lanes will be created on portions of B.B. King Boulevard and Second Street.

• Buses will have traffic signal priority along the route.

• Other features include mobile ticketing, automated voice announcements, and real-time security cameras.

Officials seek feedback at public meeting Monday


The total cost of the Innovation Corridor is $74 million. The largest portion of the funds, $39 million, are federal dollars. Another $12 million comes from the BUILD grant, $18.5 million from the city, and $4.5 million from the state.

Memphis’s project is one of 55 in 35 states to receive a portion of the 2019 U.S. Department of Transportation’s $900 million BUILD grant.

The Innovation Corridor was identified as a potential high-capacity transit corridor by a 2004 MATA study. The study, Midtown Alternative Analysis, looked at transit needs and the potential to provide a higher quality service within Midtown and surrounding neighborhoods.

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Harris Presents ‘Landmark’ Funding Plan for MATA

CREDIT: Memphis Area Transit Authority

Memphis Area Transit Authority

Mayor Harris wants to give MATA $10 million.

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris presented a plan to the Shelby County Commission Wednesday to generate $10 million in funding each year for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA).

In the past, MATA has said it needs an additional $30 million in funding to build a more robust, frequent, and reliable system.


Gary Rosenfeld, CEO of MATA said Wednesday that the mayor’s proposal is a “landmark plan” that would “dramatically change the trajectory of funding for public transit in this community.”

Harris said the plan would have “zero impact” on most families and does not include an increase in property taxes. Instead, the plan would implement an annual $145 registration fee for households’ third vehicle and beyond. Harris said this would only affect about 17 percent of residents here.

“Today I presented out #Future4Transit plan to the Shelby County Commission,” Harris wrote on Twitter. “If adopted it will have a big impact on transit.”

If the commission adopts the plan, the county would also allocate 1.5 percent, or $1 million of its capital improvement budget, to transit.

Harris anticipates the additional funds will be used to implement recommendations laid out in the Transit Vision 3.0 Plan, such as an express route to the airport and increased frequency on MATA’s most popular routes.

The additional $10 million would have an economic impact of more than $40 million, Harris said, citing expanded job access and a reduction in car accidents.

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The mayor also said the plan would have a significant impact on poverty, noting there are 15,000 available jobs in the county: “More frequent transit helps people get a job and keep a job.”

The transit investment would also have a “big impact on our shared environment.” Harris said. With more frequent and reliable transit options, there would be more ridership and a reduction of automobile emissions by thousands of tons.

“Everyone has to play a role in trying to preserve our shared environment, even local officials,” Harris said. “We will all enjoy the benefits of clean air, reduced congestion, and a reduction in poverty. This sustainable investment in transit helps achieve all those objectives.”

Harris is looking for the commission to vote on the plan by February 2020. County approval could be contingent upon MATA giving the county a place on its board.

Earlier this year, the county commission approved $2.5 million of the county’s 2020 budget going toward MATA and related infrastructure improvements. This was the first investment in public transit by the county.

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County Looks to Make First Ever Investment in MATA

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Justin Fox Burks

The county is looking to make its first ever investment in public transit, beginning this fiscal year.

Five Shelby County Commissioners pushed Tuesday to amend Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ budget proposal to include funding for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA).

The amendment, sponsored by Commissioners Tami Sawyer, Van Turner, Eddie Jones, Edmund Ford Jr., and Mickell M. Lowery, would allow for $2.5 million in county funds to be allocated to MATA “to support improvement of transportation services provided by MATA.”

The funding is contingent on MATA providing two board seats to the board of commissioners and final approval by the commission. 

Harris has previously said that he would be presenting a proposal for MATA funding to the commission in September.

But, commissioners like Sawyer said it’s important to begin funding MATA now. The $2.5 million of proposed funding became available after it was left over from $5 million set aside for the county election commission, according to Sawyer.

Sawyer said Tuesday that “this isn’t a formula for how we continue to fund MATA, but it’s a start.”

“In conversations that many of us have had with representatives of MATA and representatives of the community and the mayor’s administration themselves, we know that this is something that people want to see now,” Sawyer said. “But also we have to figure out one, what can we really do in this amount of time? And two, once the county gets into the transportation game, what ability will we have to participate in the oversight?”

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Nicole Lacey, chief communications officer for MATA, said that “yesterday’s action by the Shelby County Commission is a positive step in the right direction for Shelby County Government to begin investing in public transit.

The Memphis Area Transit Authority executive team looks forward to continued dialogue with the Shelby County Commission and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris regarding the possibilities of funding that could begin this fiscal year.”

In April, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland included in his proposed 2020 budget an additional $2.5 million in funding for MATA for a total of $29,170,000. The mayor said then that would bring the total funding increases for MATA to $5 million since he took office in 2016.


In the past, MATA officials have said that in order to provide a more frequent, reliable, and robust system, the agency needs an additional $30 million a year.

With the additional funding, Lacey said MATA will pursue the recommendations laid out in the Transit Vision Plan — a piece of the Memphis 3.0 plan.

Lacey said the plan includes more frequency, weekend and evening service, and new and redesigned bus routes that help people connect across the city and county.

Members of the Memphis Bus Riders Union (MBRU) said the city’s current proposal for MATA funding might not be enough to pay for new buses, routes, or service hours.

Justin Davis of the MBRU said the city and county governments can’t keep putting off a large investment in transit “if we want to increase ridership and improve MATA’s public perception.”

“If MATA does get that new funding for fiscal year 2020, we want to see it going to operations first: more bus routes, more frequent service, and more service on nights and weekends,” Davis said. “But if MATA doesn’t get a significant investment, we’re worried that they will be pushed to cut service again to balance their budget — just like what happened last fall.”

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Bus Riders Concerned With MATA’s Proposed Service Cuts


The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is proposing service cuts this fall that would affect almost 30 routes, and Memphis bus riders aren’t happy.

Pending a vote by the MATA Board of Commissioners, seven routes will be eliminated, including the 31 Firestone which was a demonstration route implemented last year. When MATA created the Firestone route, Justin Davis of the Memphis Bus Riders’ Union (MBRU) called it a “big victory” for the residents of New Chicago in North Memphis. The route restored service to North Memphis that was lost when the 31 Crosstown route was discontinued in 2013.

Now, Davis said New Chicago will “essentially have no transit service at all.” Another route set to be cut that concerns the union is the 5 Central which services the University of Memphis area. But, according to MATA the university will be served on a redesigned 50 Poplar route.

Others routes being eliminated include those that service Shelby Farms Park, Whitehaven, Boxtown Westwood, and Northaven.

“MBRU is really concerned about just how much service will be cut in MATA’s proposal,” Davis said. “People rely on many of these routes to get out of their neighborhoods for work, medical care, and fresh groceries.”

Apart from eliminating routes, MATA is also planning to cut many weekend and late-night trips, as well as reduce the frequency of several routes.


For example, MATA’s proposed cutting Saturday service on the 13 Lauderdale and 17 McLemore routes in South Memphis, Davis said.

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“Put all that together, and MATA’s plan will remove a huge amount of service from working-class neighborhoods and majority-black neighborhoods — all at once,” Davis said. “What does this mean for bus riders? If these cuts go through, bus riders will lose jobs, drop out of classes, and lose access to their vote.

“For many people in Memphis who don’t have cars, transit is the key to their livelihoods. And if we want create more thriving neighborhoods, we can’t keep cutting them off from the rest of the city.”

Officials with MATA say all of the changes are meant to stretch the agency’s limited funding as much as possible, while focusing on serving the most efficient routes. 

The MATA board will vote on the set of services changes at their next meeting on Thursday, September 27th at 3:30 at the MATA headquarters. If approved, the changes will go into effect on Sunday, November 11th.


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City Council Looks to Implement Transportation Utility Fee

The Memphis City Council is looking to implement a transportation utility fee to fund roadway and transit projects.

Councilman Edmund Ford Jr. said the fee would be used to fund roadway improvement projects, such repairing curb and gutters, as well as support the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA)’s new transit plan.

“I think it’s time for us to look at ways that we can garner enough funds that we don’t rely so much on property taxes,” Ford said. “I know we’re not in the phase of putting the ordinance together, but I think the discussion is important if we’re serious about funding MATA, as well as making sure public works has what it needs.”

The fee would be tacked on to Memphis Light, Gas and Water bills and would be similar to the stormwater fee, Wayne Gaskin, former city of Memphis engineer told the council. The residential and non-residential rates would be based on the amount of trips a property generates and could range from $4.75 to $15. Gaskin said the fee could generate more than $30 million in revenue each year.

This revenue will be used to offset the costs of road projects and create a dedicated source of funding for MATA, Ford said.

Last month, Robert Knecht, director of Public Works, told the council that the city doesn’t have dedicated funding for street improvement projects, such as fixing sidewalks. With more funding, other improvements such as switching to LED traffic signals could take place. To implement all of the roadway improvements currently needed citywide, Knecht said it would cost $60 to $80 million.

To upkeep sidewalks only, it would cost an additional $19 million a year.

The city is currently on an approximate 25-year street paving cycle, Knecht said. This means on average all 8,816 lane miles of street will get re-surfaced at least once every 25 years. Knecht proposes a 20-year cycle, which would cost another $8 million a year. A 10-year cycle hikes the cost up by another $50 million.

Ford plans to draft a resolution for the transportation fee and present it to the council in two weeks.

“I think it’s a true example of finding a way to be creative, while making sure that people are paying their fair share,” Ford said. “About 310,000 cars come through the city of Memphis every single day.”