Trip Denials and Screwed Up Priorities

MATA illegal practices violate our civil rights

By Christina Clift
(Tuesday, October 23) This morning I called MATA’s paratransit service named MATAplus to schedule several trips I planned to take on Thursday.  MATA gives you three days in advance of your trip to schedule a ride and I was within the MATA three-day window. The law requires them to take reservations the day before a ride and I thought that I might have fewer times to choose from since I didn’t call on Monday. Given MATA’s common practice of trip denials I knew that getting a ride might not be easy. But I have a right to public transportation just like all other Memphians.

At first, things were going quite well.  I was on hold for less than two minutes and the reservationist who answered my call seemed professional and friendly.  She asked my name, where I wanted to be picked up from, where I wanted to go and what time I wanted to be picked up.  I requested a pick-up on Covington Pike for 7:30 AM traveling to work at 9:00.  She asked me some standard questions about whether anyone was traveling with me and whether or not I used any mobility aides.  I answered no to both and was able to get the time I requested.  That is where my troubles began.

Next, I needed to travel from 5100 Poplar to attend an event that the STAC (Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee) holds annually.  The event was started back in 2005 to say thanks to MATA drivers for their service to the community.  But my reservationist said that there were no trips available.  I asked if that meant there were no trips possible during the 10, 11, 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 o’clock.  The reservationist stated that they could only accommodate my earlier trip since it was a “center run,” but no other trips. 

Ironically, MATA could not provide a ride to their own business, the place where they keep all the buses.  I was not surprised since my coworker Allison had been told the same thing by the very same reservationist earlier that morning.

Trip prioritization is an illegal practice under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). MATA had not only illegally denied me a trip, but committed a second illegal act in prioritizing trips.  This is unfair to all MATAplus riders.  The practice says to people with disabilities that your trips aren’t important to MATA because they aren’t on a “center run.”  Trips to church, the store, shopping, or the library are very important to the person trying to schedule the trip.  

Recently MATA began partnering with the Commission on Aging to transport seniors who are 60 years and older to local senior centers and shopping trips free of charge.  This points to another illegal act of creating capacity constraints. The paratransit system is to operate like the mainline bus, and MATA bus riders do not have limits to the fixed-route use. But obviously MATAplus riders have days when they just cannot use the system. This is evidence of illegal capacity constraints on demand-response trips. MATA is required to have capacity to meet the demand of rider’s who make requests, but apparently, MATA is violating citizens’ civil rights in order to run repeating and subscription services.

Trip denials have been an issue with MATAplus for at least the past two years.  MCIL as well as other members of the community have made several attempts to address the situation in a manner that would not lead to a direct confrontation between MATA and the community.  

During these attempts to resolve the issue MCIL agreed to give MATA time to fix the issues of a driver shortage, as well as a shortage of vehicles to accommodate the on demand ride request.  STAC members have agreed to partner with MATA to put together videos to instruct MATAplus riders on how to better use the service.  We have yet to get any feedback on whether or not the videos will happen.  We have instructed riders to call the complaint line and document every time in which they are being denied a ride, because they are not going a “center run”.  

“Trip denials have caused me to miss family and community functions,” said Bobbie Fields who has been a MATAplus rider for over ten years, “such as church, doctor visits, work assignments, a host of other activities and personal duties.” 

MCIL and other members of the community who use MATAplus as a source of transportation have continued to try to work with MATA despite the further deterioration of the paratransit service.  MATA continues to break the law with trip denials, trip prioritization and capacity constraints. People with disabilities are being excluded from travel and equal participation in our community.