There are 124 article(s) tagged MATA:
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.
How Memphians will vote on the referendum, and whether it will ultimately impact Tennessee’s gun laws, was a hot topic for local reporters this week.
Transpro’s draft report said ridership has declined 82% since 1991, the system needs 18 more buses to function properly and its current capital project plans are “financially unsustainable.”
Chase Carlisle said the council could use its rarely used subpoena power to seek financial records from MATA in the coming weeks.
As leaders of the board, the new chair and vice chair will help steer a district that’s in transition, and on the precipice of major decisions about its long-term goals and plans.
The mayor’s comments about governance come after MATA has laid off employees, is weighing route closures, and has faced weeks of headlines about its negative financial worth.
“Great cities are intentional and not accidental. Currently, the Memphis Area Transit Authority does not have adequate funding to deliver the service our riders need and deserve.”