Memphis Area Transit Authority

The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is the public transportation provider for Memphis, Tennessee. It is one of the largest transit providers in the state of Tennessee; MATA transports customers in the City of Memphis and parts of Shelby County on fixed-route buses, paratransit vehicles, demand-responsive service, and the MATA Trolley system. The system is managed by a seven-member policy board appointed by the mayor and approved by the Memphis City Council. In , the system had a ridership of .

History

The system was formed in 1975 to service the greater Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee area. In the past, its roster included GM TDH-5300 and TDH-4500 "New Looks" and Flxible 40-102 New Look series (carryovers from its predecessor prior to MATA's formation), AM General 40 ft., MAN articulateds, the RTS series from GM, TMC and NovaBus, Neoplan artics, and NovaBus LFS low floors buses. The RTS series were MATA's preferred fleet of choice, having been used in its lineup from February 1980 until its retirement in April 2010, when the six remaining 1994 NovaBus versions were replaced with the Gillig Advantage Hybrids. MATA hopes to shift to a hybrid fleet in the future.MATA website.
/ref>

In February 2019, MATA decided to award a contract to Innovations in Transportation for a new fare system, and a contract to LECIP and Trapeze Software Group for new fareboxes. However, MATA ended up using a system by americaneagle.com for mobile app ticketing. The app, GO901, was launched in November 2020 and allows users to buy and utilize tickets and passes from their phone. In conjunction with the app, MATA started offering free WiFi on vehicles starting in December 2019.

In June 2021, MATA passed a resolution to cancel a contract with First Transit for transport management services and replace it with a contract with RATP Dev. USA. Under the contract with First Transit, all MATA employees were employed by Midsouth Transportation Management, a subsidiary of First Transit. MATA's operational environment won't be majorly changed by contract change.

mConnect

Development for the mConnect bus rapid transit line started in May 2014, when the Midtown Alternatives Analysis study was initiated by MATA. The goal of the study was to pick a locally preferred alternative for high capacity transit in Midtown. Completed in 2016, the study decided upon a route between downtown and U of M via Union and Poplar.

In 2017, MATA released the Transit Vision plan, which called for an additional $30 million of funding to overhaul the bus system and improve frequency.

In 2019, MATA started designing the Innovation Corridor, which mConnect is the center of. In the same year, the U.S. DOT awarded MATA a $12 million grant to fund the construction of mConnect.

In 2020, a $46 million grant application was submitted to the FTA. MATA received a favorable rating on the submission in 2022.

Operations

Rail

Initially opened in 1993, the Main Street Trolley Line uses classic streetcars on a system that has grown to three routes: one along the riverfront, another serving Main Street in the heart of downtown Memphis, and an extension on Madison Avenue. The Madison Avenue line opened in 2004, as the initial stage of a light rail system that would connect downtown Memphis with the Memphis International Airport and eventually to regional transit service beyond the MATA service boundaries.

Service was replaced by buses after two trolleys caught fire in late 2013 and early 2014. After nearly four years, the Main Street Trolley Line was reinstated in 2018.

Currently, MATA offers trolley line services seven days a week. The Main Street Line operates trolleys with 12-minute headways throughout the day. The Riverfront Line and Madison Line operate buses with 40-minute and 30-minute headways respectively.

MATA has 5 operable trolleys, but only 4 are operated at a time.

Bus

MATA operates 24 fixed-route bus routes. On MATA's system map, bus routes are organized into three categories based on rush hour frequency: high frequency routes have 30 minute weekday frequency, medium frequency routes have 60 minute weekday frequency, and low frequency routes have greater than 60 minute weekday frequency.

The MATA fixed-route fleet consists of 122 Gillig Advantage Low Floor buses. All of the buses have bike racks on the front of the vehicle. They are also all equipped with WiFi.

MATAplus

MATAplus is a shared ride paratransit service designed to meet the transportation needs of persons with disabilities in the Memphis service area. The service covers the same area as the MATA bus system and operate during the same days and hours as the fixed-route bus system in the same area. The service area extends three-fourths (3/4) of a mile beyond the fixed-routes, which means that anywhere beyond the area mentioned can not qualify for MATAplus services. Two types of services are offered through MATAplus: Advance/Demand Response, which allows riders to book reservations in advance, and a subscription service that allows riders to use the service to take them to their destination and back.

On-Demand

Groove On-Demand is an on-demand service launched in February 2021. It is the successor to MATA and the Memphis Medical District Collaborative (MMDC)'s Route 500 commuter bus. The current service also includes the Downtown Memphis Commission as a major supporter. Groove serves Downtown, the Medical District, New Chicago, and President's Island. Groove operates using software from Via Transportation.

Ready! by MATA is an on-demand service launched in August 2021. It is a one-year pilot program that was implemented as a part of Transit Vision. Ready! serves three zones. Zone 1 covers the neighborhoods of Boxtown, Westwood, and Whitehaven. Zone 2 consists of Northaven and Frayser. Zone 3 in mostly in Cordova. Reservations works similarly to ride hailing services, but payments can be made through the GO901 app or in-person with cash. Fares are the same as fixed route buses. Ready! operates Monday-Saturday, 6am-7pm.

Fares

MATA charges a flat fare for all trips. Since June 20, 2020, the full fare is $1 and the senior/disabled fare is $0.50. MATA also offers a Daily Fast Pass for $2 ($1 for seniors and disabled individuals), but hasn't offered 7-day or 31-day passes since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Up to three kids under 5 can board for free with fare-paying rider. In September 2020 MATA launched GO901, a mobile fare app that allows users to purchase fares and day passes using debit and credit cards.

Ridership

In 2021, MATA served a total of approximately 5.4 million passengers. Of those passengers, approximately 70,000 were from the trolley system and 1.1 million were from MATAplus.

Facilities

MATA owns three transit centers, two of which have parking, and one park-and-ride lot. MATA also designates several malls as informal park-and-ride lots on its map.

Maintenance

MATA owns two facilities at which it maintains its buses, trolleys, and other road vehicles. The Trolley Operations and Maintenance facility is located at 547 North Main Street. The road vehicle maintenance facility is located at 1370 Levee Road.

References

External links

Official website
*https://transitvision.memphistn.gov/
*https://memphisinnovationcorridor.com/
1979 TV story on the "Hustle Bus"
at YouTube

{{Authority control

*
Bus transportation in Arkansas
Bus transportation in Tennessee
Government agencies established in 1975
1975 establishments in Tennessee
Heritage streetcar systems
Intermodal transportation authorities in Tennessee
Intermodal transportation authorities in Arkansas
Transportation in Memphis, Tennessee
Transit agencies in Arkansas