MATA cannot ignore people with disabilities

Details of poor service relayed to the Memphis City Council

By Christina Clift
At last night’s meeting of the Memphis City Council people with disabilities showed up and showed out to express their frustration with the state of MATAplus services.  Speakers included Ruth Hibler, Allison Donald, Christina Clift, Dr. Gladys Jones, and Stephanie Jones.  

At the end of the City Council meeting, it was our turn to provide public comments.  Allison Donald and I had comments from the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee and the Memphis Center for Independent Living regarding MATA’s continued practice of illegal capacity constraints when it comes to making reservations and booking trips.  

Ruth Hibler did an excellent job detailing her experiences as a MATAplus rider and the poor quality of service that she’s received.  She asked that something be done to improve customer service at MATAplus and that she wanted to be treated like a citizen.  

But the best part of the night came at the end after our last speaker, Dr. Jones spoke about her experiences as a MATA rider.  Dr. Jones is a former lobbyist for the city of Memphis and the daughter of Rufus Jones. 

“I know you, I know where you come from, I know your family and believe your words,” said Councilman Joe Brown. “I don’t believe what MATA’s management had to say.” 

We cannot lose our momentum gained from yesterday’s City Council meeting and plan to attend the next MATA board meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 3:30 PM at 1370 Levee Road.  MCIL along with our community partners will not give up until MATAplus is a first-class service for all Memphians with disabilities.

Prior to the public comments, Mayor Strickland was right on schedule with his proposed 2018-19 budget which is traditionally announced during the second City Council meeting in April.   The Mayor began with a highlights from his proposed budget which included increased funding for city services such as police, libraries, and parks.  Unfortunately public transportation was not specifically mentioned during his address to the City Council.  MATA is asking for an additional 30 million dollars to fund the suggested changes proposed by Memphis 3.0 to upgrade the existing fixed route system.  But there didn’t seem to be anything to controversial in Mayor Strickland’s proposal.  MCIL will stay tuned when more becomes available.