There are 130 article(s) tagged MATA:
“I feel like we are on the right track — kind of pun intended — to stabilize, improve the service and then grow,” MATA Trustee Rodrick Holmes told The Daily Memphian.
On Transit Equity Day, more than 60 MATA riders and others gathered in Orange Mound to express their frustrations and hopes for a better public transportation system in Memphis.
The St. Jude Memphis Marathon comes with road closures, new parking measures and safety plans that will impact more than 25 neighborhoods Downtown.
The pilot makes it so no passes, fare cards or payments are required on all fixed-route buses, trolleys and MATAplus services.
“Would 79% of Shelby County households who believe in MATA support an investment of $2 and change a month to fund public transit? Especially if it means they would be able to ride the bus, microtransit and trolley all fare-free?
“If we want our city to thrive, we need a strong transit system. It effects all of us who want our packages delivered, our children to learn, our construction projects completed, our coffee to be made, and so much more.”
A few days ago, Memphis Area Transit Authority officials announced they would introduce two CEO finalists at a public meeting. That meeting was abruptly canceled with little explanation.
MATA does not have enough money to operate the trolleys even as it works to ready vehicles for a potential return.
The report details further expenditures from the embattled bus system that raised questions with auditors about how taxpayer money for bus-riders was being spent.
“There is time for all Memphians of good will to ask their council representatives to properly fund MATA for daily riders, the businesses that employ them and the good of the entire city.”
New budget proposal relies on rosy projections, cutting MATA funding in half and extending ongoing hiring freeze.
As MATA tried to meet a state mandate for an electric fleet, Gary Rosenfeld said it was more expedient and less costly to visit overseas manufacturers rather than ship equipment back and forth for testing.
At its Tuesday, March 18, session, the City Council also takes first votes on the Cleveland Street redevelopment plan and a $300 a year blight fee on owners of abandoned and vacant properties.
MATA’s Bacarra Mauldin has been fired, three weeks after she was placed on administrative leave following the discovery of questionable charges on her company credit card.
“We have to get our act together. The city and county mayors need to sit down together for a cup of coffee. Strong coffee. A pot of it.”
In all, nearly one-third of MATA buses weren’t showing up where or when they were scheduled to.
Purchases included about $5,000 in PayPal and Venmo money transfer transactions, $10,000 in Amazon purchases, $7,000 at Best Buy, more than $1,000 at Montblanc, a maker of fine pens, and money on massages.
MATA’s interim chief financial officer urged Memphis Mayor Paul Young to find more funding for the bus system before it runs out of cash next month.
The board voted seven to one to approve the contract with Transpro.
The Young administration could ask the City Council for additional money for MATA, and at least one council member does not like its current approach.
The Memphis Area Transit Authority Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday, Dec. 17, to install three consultants at the top of the troubled bus system — at some future point.
The new Memphis Area Transit Authority board heard a proposal to replace interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin temporarily with John Lewis of Transpro, the consultant who wrote a scathing report about the bus system just weeks ago.
MATA’s interim CEO Bacarra Mauldin addressed the myriad problems facing the transit system, even while noting progress on some fronts.
The newly confirmed board voted unanimously to suspend the cuts the previous board had approved on Sept. 24.
The Young administration recently decided to pay $30 million to save the Downtown Memphis Sheraton from the auction block. The MATA overhaul could be just as expensive and resonate over just as long of a time period.