Letter to MATAplus

Allison Donald shares her complaint about Memphis Paratransit 

Dear MATAplus:
As a taxpaying citizen of Memphis.  I am extremely displeased with the level of service offered by MATAplus over the last two weeks.  I frequently use public transportation to get around Memphis as well as during my daily commute to and from work.  

On December 6th I was scheduled to be picked up at 7:46 am. The bus did not arrive at my residence until 8:40.  I tried calling dispatch multiple times to check on my ride and was sent to voicemail each time.  On this particular day as I boarded the bus the driver asked me:  

“did the dispatcher call me and let me know that my bus was going to be late?”  

I did not receive a call from a dispatcher about the status of my ride or a possible arrival time. 
 
Due to the irregularity of the service that MATAplus has provided I am often forced to rely on other forms of transportation that are not very cost effective for me.  Over the last week alone I had to request a Lyft ride because I did not trust MATAplus.  I eventually had to cancel those rides, because MATAplus and Lyft arrived at the same time.  Even though I chose MATAplus I still had to pay a five dollar cancellation fee.  

When I call to inquire about the status of my ride I was placed on hold in the queue and eventually sent to voicemail.  I would like to know what my recourse is when the phone system at MATAplus fails and why is there not a sufficient back up plan when such incidences occur?
 
I hope that you will take my complaint into consideration. Many people suffer under the deterioration of public transportation and paratransit in Memphis, and many of them are as inconvenienced as I am.  If you question my claims, I suggest you attempt to ride to work on one of your own buses for an entire month. Then you may see how frustrating it is to be late for work because of an unreliable MATAplus paratransit system.

I would greatly appreciate hearing your plans for improving the bus system Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,
Allison Donald