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Interim MATA Leadership Focused on ‘Stabilizing’ Agency

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) said their primary goals are to improve the agency’s operational and financial viability as interim leadership continues efforts to transform the agency.

Today the interim leadership team, comprised of TransPro consultants, gave a monthly update to Memphis City Council’s transportation committee.

John Lewis, interim CEO, said the leadership team has reviewed all non-employee spending to identify “unnecessary and redundant” charges while also stopping “non-safety certification-related travels” for MATA personnel. They have also changed the employee expense reimbursement policies.

“The majority of spending has got to be focused on putting transit service on the street and not towards supporting unnecessary or redundant administrative funding, as has been the practice in the past,” Lewis said. 

Officials also said they have gained access to the agency’s American Express account to suspend usage and look into the previous spending. Lewis said this is to stop future misappropriation of agency funds.

Aaron Headley, interim CFO, said MATA is also working to optimize the city’s investment. They are currently working on minimizing the amount of past-due payments with a target of less than 10 percent.  

Councilwoman Michalyn Easter-Thomas questioned whether the agency had the data to show optimization of the city’s investment, to which officials said this is an intended outcome.

The presentation showed that the amount of past due payables was at 94 percent as of March 7th, and it stayed the same as of March 26th. Headley said this is because they are “laser-focused” on getting more buses on the road and making sure they don’t run out of money.

Lewis said they are working to finalize their FY26 budget with extra focus on “eliminating wasteful spending” from both administration and vendor services.

Councilman Jeff Warren questioned whether or not the agency could switch to smaller buses on routes that aren’t as full. He suggested that this may be a better spend than to continue purchasing larger buses as they could improve cost-saving measures, efficiency, and timeliness.

Lewis explained there are opportunities for smaller vehicles; however, their main concern is stabilizing the agency.

“Getting into service design is further down the road for us,” Lewis said.

Warren responded that stabilizing the agency may be difficult if only a percentage of buses are available to complete routes.

Thomas asked if they are able to receive the data that the agency is using to complete their monthly reports even though officials said they are “ongoing.” Board chair Edmund Ford Sr. said that questions such as these could not be discussed in regular session, but rather in attorney-client session.

Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton asked how MATA plans to rebuild the community’s trust in terms of reliability and on-time performance. She said the current model is a “failing” one and advised MATA to not ask for more money if they plan to do the same thing.

“I understand that getting the money is most important, but getting the trust back — what does your model look like?” Sutton asked. “More service on the street, but you don’t have the people to ride. They’ve made other means because they were forced into a place where they had to find other means.”

Anna McQuiston, vice chair of MATA’s board of commissioners, said the interim leadership team realizes that community trust is broken, yet she didn’t think the model was broken; rather, the agency did not deliver on their promises.

“Our number-one priority right now is to deliver on the service that we tell people we’re going to provide,” McQuiston said. “We’re not doing that right now. We’ve got to deliver on time. We need the buses to show up, and that to me is the first step of many that we need to make to build back that community trust. That has been one of the priorities the board has asked for considering all these things.”

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TDOT Provides Updates on Cleanup Efforts To City Council

City Council members are concerned about routine maintenance schedules, trash collection, road repairs, and landscaping in Memphis. They asked the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) about establishing a timeline for cleanup efforts as well as employment outreach during today’s transportation committee meeting. 

They mentioned that points of concern were Madison Avenue, I-40, and South Parkway, due to the “significant amounts of trash that accumulates in these areas. Councilwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington also asked about additional resources and partnerships that the city can implement to help in cleanup efforts.

Swearengen-Washington commended the work that had been done around the airport, saying that it’s looking better, but they need “long-term planning to maintain these areas consistently.”

Katie McGinnis, TDOT District 49 Manager, said since they last met with the council they have set up initiatives to clear out vegetation so that trash and debris doesn’t get trapped.  McGinnis added that most of their efforts are geared towards asphalt and potholes. TDOT’s railroad permitting has not gone through for a resurfacing plan for I-240.

“We’re constantly having to send out  forces to patch those repeatedly over and over again in lieu of having that resurfacing project,” McGinnis said. “That’s why you’re seeing a lot of the larger debris. We don’t have that time, so we handle the safety sensitive objects first which would be the paved surfaces — anything that could cause an accident. That’s where the lack is.” 

Officials said they are tackling sections of pavement and working to restore them, but noted they are still prepping for winter weather so they can meet onligations. They said last year’s winter storm “killed” their TDOT maintenance budget resulting in a “reduction in what they were capable of doing.”

Councilwoman Rhonda Logan inquired about graffiti and how they’re monitoring it.

McGinnis mentioned they were able to capture a 15-year-old who was known for spray painting “spicy” on the I-240 corridor with the help of the Memphis Police Department. They said they had noticed a significant decrease in graffiti, but they themselves  do not look into catching graffiti artists.

Council members also offered solutions for the department’s staffing issues, asking if their  outreach could extend to juveniles to help clean the city.

“Is there a program where they can get out here and clean this mess up and give them some accountability and responsibility? They’re terrorizing the city,” councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton remarked.

TDOT said they haven’t opened their hiring process for transportation workers as they are still filling in positions from reorganizing the agency. While they recognized the highway adoption program, they said they also work with the Department of Corrections to occasionally get crews to help with litter and light landscaping. 

Cody Joyner, TDOT’s team lead for Shelby County, explained that the department of corrections had experienced staffing issues, meaning they didn’t have enough officers to send over with inmates. Joyner said when they do have enough, they are typically staging them in places with “a lot of litter” such as Elvis Presley Boulevard and Lamar Avenue.

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Transportation Advocates Urge For More MATA Funding Amid Report Findings

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is undergoing significant change following the release of a draft report from TransPro, a transportation consulting organization. 

MATA has replaced its entire board of commissioners under the direction of Memphis Mayor Paul Young, and the mayor is also urging the agency to delay service changes and cuts. While these measures are taking place in order to ensure the viability of the agency, transportation advocates are unsure that MATA can implement these changes without proper funding.

Better Transit For A Better Memphis (BTBM), a coalition founded by Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope (MICAH) and Sierra Club Chickasaw Group, said these changes are a “temporary win” but found the decision to continue current service is “unrealistic.”

“Years of underfunding have left MATA without enough buses to meet even the existing, limited schedule. Interim MATA CEO Bacarra Mauldin has been scrambling to secure more buses, but 151 of the fleet’s vehicles require repairs and the wait time for a new bus can be up to a year,”  BTBM said in a statement. “Regardless, MATA lacks the funds to purchase parts and supplies or to place an order for new buses.”

The previous MATA board voted  to cut six bus routes, including Route 16 Southeast Circulator, Route 28 Airport, Route 34 Central and Walnut Grove, Route 37 Perkins, Route 69 Winchester, and Zone 3 Cordova Ready! On Demand. The cuts were slated to go into effect November 3rd. However, during last week’s City Council meeting, Young said he wanted to halt these changes after TransPro released its report.

Prior to those changes being passed, the agency held 19 public meetings prior to the board meeting to discuss the changes. After hearing from the community, the agency said many had a desire to maintain the current bus service, and they wanted service to last longer and an improved on-time performance.

“The public hasn’t changed in what they want and what they need. It’s just our ability to deliver these services,” John Lancaster, MATA’s chief development officer said during a previous board meeting.

In addition to route suspensions, the board also decided to raise fares for MATA’s fixed-route buses. Adult base fare will be $1.75 compared to the current fare of $1.00. The increases also affect fares for students, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities. Fares for FastPasses were also increased.

TransPro said these cuts would make it harder for MATA to deliver reliable service, which they argued should be the primary goal of the agency. However, BTBM said TransPro failed to consider that the agency is not able to provide these services consistently due to their lack of buses in the fleet.

“How can the report recommend maintaining service levels when the system doesn’t even have the buses to run those routes reliably?” BTBM co-chair Dorothy Conner asked. “ It’s not supported by data or resources, and it contradicts its own findings, which highlight that Memphians want reliable transit – not an overstretched system that can’t deliver.”

BTBM said the report also failed to show the “underfunding” from previous city councils, as the city is the primary funding source of the agency. Leo Arnoult, spokesman for BTBM said both the mayor and city council have “failed to provide inflation-adjusted budgets or release Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) funds.” 

The organization said these issues were unaddressed in the report, and that replacing the entire MATA board would not fix these issues. The agency has been open about the cost of doing business as they need an additional $7.5 million for personnel costs, and $5 million for operating expenses. BTBM is urging both Mayor Young and the City Council to increase funding for the agency to resolve these issues.