The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is expected to remain under a city trusteeship until the Spring of 2027.
During a media availability on Monday, November 9th, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said Rodrick Holmes would remain as the agency’s city trustee — despite earlier plans for Holmes to exit the role at the end of this year.
Young told the press he expected a search for a permanent CEO to be launched this year, and that a candidate would likely be chosen in 2027.
The comments came after transit advocates and groups had asked for updates surrounding MATA leadership and board activity. A recent statement from Citizens for Better Service and the Memphis Bus Riders Union called for Young to clarify the status of the agency’s leadership transition and board of trustees.
Sammie Hunter, co-chair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union, referenced statements made by Young in September and called on the board to “stop hiding and meet publicly.”
Other advocates laid out their hopes and expectations for the new board.
“The new board needs to lay out a clear, actionable plan for a first-class public transportation system this city deserves, ” said Cynthia Bailey, co-chair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union. “Real change is long overdue.”
Young said the new MATA board had been sworn in, following the Memphis City Council’s approval of new members in September. He said the group was having “individual meetings with Holmes” but did not know the date of the first official board meeting.
“We will get board meetings scheduled, I just don’t have a date [today],” Young said.
At the time of the board’s appointment, Young said MATA would still be under Holmes’ trusteeship, with plans to appoint a CEO and “reestablish the structure” of the agency. He said the appointments were a move in the right direction.
Transit users and advocates agreed that the reinstallation of the MATA board signaled a shift for the agency, however many are still asking for transparency from the city and the agency. Riders and advocates said strong leadership is crucial to building equitable transit.
“We’ve had about a year without a MATA board, and [no] board means no oversight of the governance of the transit system — it also means no opportunity for the community to speak on public issues,” said Marley Ynigues, a member of Better Transit for A Better Memphis (BTBM).
Dorothy Conner, chair of BTBM shared these sentiments, and said the absence of the board has also prompted a lack of “transparency and accountability” from MATA’s leadership. “[Board meetings] are not just for community input, [but] they are actually to present every step of what [MATA] is planning to do,” Conner said. “That is not being done. We hear after the fact…information should be given beforehand instead of [as] an afterthought,”
Ron Davis, another member of BTBM noted that the group’s former co-chair stepped down to accept a position on the MATA board to ensure that an advocate’s voice was present in the group.
Davis said this opportunity is a significant gain in their fight for better transit, and said he looks forward to meeting with board members.
