The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is the
public transportation
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
provider for
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. 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
Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...
vehicles,
demand-responsive service, and the
MATA Trolley
The MATA Trolley is a heritage streetcar transit system operating in Memphis, Tennessee. It began operating on April 29, 1993. Service was suspended in June 2014, following fires on two cars. After nearly four years and repeated postponements, t ...
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
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
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
Nova Bus (stylized as NOVABUS) is a Canadian bus manufacturer headquartered in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada. Nova is owned by the Volvo Group.
The company has roots in the General Motors Diesel Division, which opened in 1979. Nova Bus was es ...
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.](_blank)
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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
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
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
First Transit is an American transportation company.
Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, First Transit operates over 300 locations, carrying more than 350 million passengers annually throughout the United States in 39 states, Puerto Rico, Panam ...
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
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...
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
Memphis International Airport is a civil-military airport located southeast of Downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. It is the primary international airport serving Memphis. It covers and has four runways., effective A ...
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
Gillig (formerly Gillig Brothers) is an American designer and manufacturer of buses. The company headquarters, along with its manufacturing operations, is located in Livermore, California (in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area) ...
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
Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...
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
President's Island is a peninsula on the Mississippi River in southwest Memphis, Tennessee. The city's major river port and an industrial park are located there.
History
The name ''President'' or ''President's'' Island appeared as early as 1801 o ...
. Groove operates using software from Via Transportation
Via Transportation, Inc. is a global public transport, logistics, and Transit Tech company headquartered in New York City. Via was founded in 2012. Via licenses its technology to cities, transportation authorities, school districts, universiti ...
.
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
Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...
. 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
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
{{Authority control
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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