Public transit users and advocates said their experiences don’t match recent updates provided by the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA). Riders said MATA’s reporting seems to neglect the reality experienced by their ridership.
“I’m not sure where the disconnect is,” said Kelsey Huse, a graduate student studying urban planning at the University of Memphis. “Either their data is wrong or it’s being improperly collected, or something is broken. I think we need to get to the bottom of it.”
Huse has been vocal about calling for changes in public transit in the city. A recent video on her Instagram account, @Memphisurbanism, gained traction as it showed the reality of those who are reliant on MATA.
“This is the reality behind defunding public transit: Our neighbors are harmed, their time is wasted, and they end up having to spend a lot of money to use alternatives,” the post said.
The video told the story of Zen’Yari Winters, a rider who relies on the buses to get to work daily. While there is a bus stop outside of Winters’ home, she has to catch the bus hours before her shift. She detailed several instances of buses running late or not at all. Winters said this often comes with no communication from MATA.
“If my bosses weren’t so understanding — I would be unemployed,” Winters said.
Winters often turns to rideshare services when the buses don’t show up, which she said gets expensive. Over the last three months, she’s spent $130 on Uber and Lyft services.
“I just got paid last Thursday — I have $19 to my name,” Winters said. “I didn’t get a chance to buy groceries because I’m buying Uber. I have dogs, so I have to buy their food. It’s like I have to go hungry because I have to get to work.”
Huse and Winters’ video coincided with a MATA update provided to the Memphis City Council’s Transportation Committee on Tuesday. It was the first public update since the city appointed Rodrick Holmes as trustee and interim chief executive officer for operations. The city’s chief financial officer, Walter Person, was named as fiscal trustee for MATA.
The appointment of city officials was seen as a controversial move by riders and advocates alike. The decision was made as the MATA board was in the process of interviewing candidates for a permanent CEO position.
During his presentation, Holmes said he and his team have been concerned with stabilizing the agency and rebuilding community trust. Holmes said they’ve seen “real progress” with “positive momentum.”
The agency recently implemented a free fare model, which Holmes said has highlighted a need in the community. He said this has led to an 18 percent increase in ridership. While they may mark growth for the agency, riders said these positive updates don’t reflect their situation.
“[The buses] are free, and that’s good, but they still don’t show up,” Winters said.
MATA also reported improvements in their finances, which had long been a point of controversy for the agency. “For the last 90 days we endeavored to create a budget,” Holmes said. “Historically, MATA did not have a budget that was departmental. Over that time period, we have been able to reduce our budget gap from $16.5M to $4M.”
Officials say they plan to continue stabilizing the agency, strengthening financial controls, and establishing weekly performance checkpoints.
The presentation may have shown advancements in operations, but riders were not satisfied with the updates.
“I am not pleased that Mr. Holmes did not touch on the real problems facing bus riders,” said Johnnie Mosley, founding chairman of Citizens For Better Service. “The presentation by Mr. Holmes was the same pat-on-the-back presentation I have heard for years.”