The 2025 Mega Conference in Nashville

The Mega Conference is a chance for people with disabilities to be in community with one another

By Allison Donald

There’s something powerful about being in a room full of people who just get it. That was my experience at the 2025 Mega Conference in Nashville—a two-day event that brought together hundreds of advocates, professionals, and individuals with disabilities to learn, connect, and push for change.

As Ashli Seibers-Bell, Director of Family Voices of Tennessee, put it best, “The Mega Conference is a chance for people with disabilities to be in community with one another, connect professionally, and share resources.” That quote stayed with me throughout the event, because that’s exactly what happened.

The Mega Conference is highlighted by the advocacy work that is being done across Tennessee and beyond, and by the push for continued innovation to improve the lives of people with disabilities. It’s a place where both progress and challenges are named, where voices are raised, and where real solutions start to take shape.

I had the honor of being one of five panelists in a session that dove deep into some of the most important issues we face. We came from different backgrounds and lived experiences, but shared a commitment to speaking truthfully and openly.

Together, we talked about the importance of effective communication—how often it's overlooked, and how crucial it is, especially healthcare, education, and everyday interactions. We shared stories of times when poor communication created barriers, but also highlighted those meaningful moments when someone took the time to adapt, listen, and include us.

We also had a powerful conversation about the intersection of race and disability. This part really resonated with me. Living with a disability is already complex, but when race enters the equation, the challenges can multiply. We discussed how racial and cultural identity shape our experiences with disability and how advocacy has to be intersectional in order to be truly inclusive and effective.

Another big theme we touched on was representation. Sitting on that panel—alongside others who understood my experiences—was validating and empowering. It reminded me of how critical it is to see people who look like you and live like you in leadership roles, public conversations, and decision-making spaces. When we’re represented, our issues don’t get overlooked—and our communities get stronger.

More than anything, I left the Mega Conference feeling energized. I was surrounded by people who are passionate, informed, and committed to building a better, more accessible world. It reminded me that while our individual journeys may differ, we’re walking them together—and that kind of community is everything.

To everyone I met, spoke with, and learned from—thank you. And to anyone who’s never been to a Mega Conference: go if you can. There’s nothing like being in a space where your voice doesn’t just echo—it’s heard.  If you would like more information on the Mega Conference 2025 visit https://tnmegacon.org/. 

MATAplus Capacity Constraints - Part 2

Part Two - Charting a Course to Improved Service at MATAplus

Read Part One - MATAplus Capacity Constraints: https://mciljournal.blogspot.com/2025/04/mataplus-capacity-constraints.html

By Tim Wheat

In the previous post, Disability Connection delved into a critical challenge: the capacity constraints of MATAplus. We explored how trip denials are part of the system and ultimately, a less reliable and capacity constrained service for those who depend on it most.

But identifying these hurdles is only part of the road to a solution. Today, we're shifting our focus to explore potential answers – ways we can work towards a more robust and responsive paratransit system for Memphis.

Determining the necessary size of the MATAplus vehicle fleet hinges on understanding the daily demand for paratransit services. The core principle should be that every eligible rider in Memphis who needs a trip on a given day should be able to schedule it the day before. This demand-responsive element is the primary driver in calculating the required capacity. 

While the total number of daily ride requests will naturally fluctuate, the system's fundamental capacity must be built around accommodating these next-day requests. To ensure this responsiveness, a crucial operational guideline should be to dedicate a significant portion of the fleet – ideally, no more than half – to "subscription services," those regularly scheduled trips for eligible passengers with disabilities. The remaining capacity is what directly addresses the fluctuating, day-to-day demand. A paratransit system functioning effectively should prioritize having sufficient vehicles available to meet these next-day requests, even while allocating up to 50% of its fleet to the predictable needs of subscription services. 

Unfortunately, MATAplus appears to operate in a counterintuitive manner, prioritizing the establishment of subscription service and then limiting next-day reservations. While subscription services inherently offer scheduling advantages and the potential for efficient shared rides due to their predictability, the primary determining factor of capacity should be the ability to meet the needs of the demand-responsive passengers who have a right to a ride the next day. 

Demand-responsive services may be more difficult to schedule. John Lewis, however, reported to the MATA Board Service Committee that MATAplus was avergering just one person per trip. It does not seem that MATA is effectively using the technology they have or efficiently scheduling subscription trips as well as the three-day in advance trips. The solution seems to be returning to providing eligible riders with next-day service and making efficient and effective use of subscription service. 

Solving the capacity constraints at MATA should also include examining the effectiveness of the procedures and the hardware, software and training that MATAplus uses. For instance, modern software can obviously refine routes and schedules instantaneously, not requiring three days. MATA seems to have this software to schedule the “Ready Ride” an on-demand service they offer in parts of the area. The data held within MATAplus should be invaluable in a realistic assessment of the capacity of the system. 

Analysis of the process to be effective use of vehicles and real-time vehicle tracking, dynamic rerouting, and efficient dispatching must be part of the change at MATAplus.It seems simple to also explore the potential for intelligently grouping and consolidating trips for passengers heading in similar directions around the same time. Shared trips will more efficiently align with the travel patterns of riders and minimize wasted mileage. This will also increase the average passenger per trip that the TransPro CEO reports. 

Finally, the flow of communication between dispatchers, drivers, and passengers seems to be very poor. While most people use the phone for scheduling and trip information, there are some MATAplus riders who would benefit from modern communication. A MATAplus app that allows scheduling, cancelling, ETAs and real time GPS data could move the paratransit system into the  Twenty-First Century.  That app does not exist, but each bus has GPS data and it does not seem to be a stretch that those functions could be included. Online scheduling, text ETAs and reminders are all part of basic technology without a dedicated app. 

Ultimately, addressing the capacity constraints is a civil right. People with disabilities are dedicated and quality customers of MATA. Many, because of their disability, are not using other transportation methods and rely on the public transit system to meet the responsibilities of the federal law. By strategically optimizing the existing resources, making informed and data-driven enhancements to the fleet, exploring complementary technologies, and planning for the future needs of Memphis, we can collectively work towards a more reliable and responsive paratransit system for our community. 

What innovative solutions or best practices have you witnessed in other paratransit systems facing similar capacity challenges? Your insights and ideas, specifically in the context of Memphis, are invaluable, and we encourage you to share them.

MATAplus Capacity Constraints

Part One - MATA transportation service for people with disabilities not meeting the federal requirements.

By Tim Wheat

Now that TransPro is looking closely at MATA, it is time they turn some attention to the paratransit service. In past meetings, MATA has reported that the fixed route is struggling to match the standards of other transportation systems while MATAplus reports 97% on-time performance with only 3% denial rate.

Most critically, Disability Connection believes that those reported numbers do not give an accurate picture of the paratransit service. Very simply, the paratransit service is capacity constrained because a certified rider with a disability can be confident they will not receive a ride when they request one the next day. MATAplus riders know they must call three days in advance to have any hope of getting a ride. 

To use the fixed route, you only need to go to a bus stop, paratransit riders must be certified and must schedule rides one to three days in advance. This difference in the service is allowed in the thirty-five year-old Americans with Disabilities Act, but the paratransit service still has a responsibility to be comparable to the fixed-route. And the standard is that a rider must be able schedule a trip for the next day. 

The ADA requires transportation service to have a capacity that will meet the needs of riders that request a ride the day before they need it. It also makes clear that half of the capacity should be retained for the flexible schedules of people with disabilities. The maximum amount of time is to make a reservation three days in advance, but MATA begins booking trips three days in advance, fills to capacity and rarely takes requests one or two days prior to travel. 

This past summer and fall, DCM sampled MATAplus and asked riders to call and request a trip the next day. Not one caller was able to schedule a trip. Although the MATAplus Rider’s Guide says “Customers can make a reservation for trip(s) from one (1) to three (3) days in advance,” riders know that if you do not call early, three days prior to your trip, you will be told that there are no scheduled times available.

While MATA reports a minimal denial rate, they have not been taking next-day reservations and have trained the ridership to call three days in advance of a needed trip.

 This problem is not new. We want TransPro to know that MATAplus has had issues with this in the past. Twenty years ago the FTA found Capacity Constraints and five years ago, during the heart of COVID, the FTA found:

MATA is denying a significant portion of trip requests for MATAplus service, and is undercounting its denials, either by mis-coding certain denials or not tracking them.

More specifically, the report notes how MATA reservation agents are denying and underreporting denials. First, the agents directly denied trips, according to the 2020 ADA Paratransit Compliance Review, MATAplus denied customers, “...particularly for trip requests made one or two days in advance (p. 37)…” These direct denials were theoretically counted, however, the report also notes that some denials were not documented. This process was made simple because once denied, the reservation agent could simply move on to the next call. 

Secondly, the caller may accept a trip scheduled beyond the sixty-minute reservation window and it was not noted as a denial. The MATAplus Riders Guide provides a explanation:

A rider may still accept an alternative pick-up time that is more than one (1) hour from the requested pick-up time will be considered a trip denial. (p. 13)

Because the rider accepted the trip, the FTA found that MATA was just not considering these late reservations a denial.

MATA reservation agents were also accepting a trip request to a location, but stating directly that they could not book a return trip. Rather than this being logged as a trip denial, it was considered a “trip refusal” and a trip denial. This bureaucratic trick diluted the number of denials while not providing anyone with transportation.

The report further says that the software was not properly set up and MATA agents were not able to see all the trip possibilities. The obvious result is that people who called were denied trips when MATAplus had ride options. MATAplus riders also were not provided with a full range of potential trips and either took reservations that were not ideal to the rider or they declined the ride. The FTA report additionally states that MATA staff only searched for that specific time and did not negotiate further with riders for a time within the reservation window. MATA agents also used the term advanced cancellation rather than denial. 

Finally, the report notes that MATA agents directly told riders that they had to call three days in advance to get a ride. The training of MATAplus riders to call three days ahead began five years ago and clearly continues at this time. When DCM sampled MATAplus rider’s request for next-day trips, this was misinformation that the MATA agents continued to use. 

Riders of the system also feel that there is a very obvious operational capacity constraint. MATAplus riders are often picked up in vehicles that advertise the “Ready Ride,” service at MATA. People in the disability community cannot help but feel that the reason there are no buses to give people with disabilities rides is because those vehicles are used for other services. 

John Lewis' voice resonated at the MATA board meeting as he illuminated the profound meaning of the Community Commitment score. It's not simply about buses running on schedule, he insisted, but about acknowledging the very real impact on individuals when MATA cannot even get a bus on the road. For Lewis, this score serves as a stark reminder of unmet needs and the daily challenges faced by those who rely on consistent and reliable transportation.

We ask the MATA and TransPro not to exclude MATAplus from this Community Commitment philosophy. Refusing attempts to schedule trips one and two days in advance should be scored like a bus not even leaving the yard. We would give MATAplus a Community Commitment score of roughly 33 percent, like not having two out of three buses even leaving the yard. A truly effective MATA demands a functional paratransit system, and rectifying this inequity must be a priority before TransPro concludes its work.

NEXT WEEK: Disability Connection Midsouth offers solutions

Read Part Two: https://mciljournal.blogspot.com/2025/05/mataplus-capacity-constraints-part-2.html

 

ADA Racket in Memphis?

Lawsuit Raises ADA Questions

Four Oregon businesses have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging a nationwide "racket" of fraudulent disability claims. The businesses claim they were targeted for disability access violations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and that two Tennessee-based law firms are involved in extorting money by filing fake ADA complaints.

This lawsuit highlights a concerning issue: the potential for misuse of the ADA, a law designed to protect the rights of people with disabilities. While the ADA is crucial for ensuring accessibility and preventing discrimination, these Oregon businesses claim that some entities are exploiting the law for financial gain.

The lawsuit mainly contends that the method of finding ADA violations was flawed and may have even used people with disabilities in the process. The complaints also stem from parking, and accessible routes outside the businesses. Violations that can be seen from the street or from computer mapping and not necessarily a complaint from a person with disabilities personally experiencing a barrier. 

The staff at DCM has had good conversations about peculiarities of the ADA. First, the ADA allows for recovery of attorney’s fees and costs, but people with disabilities who sue are not entitled to any monetary damages. The ADA as Civil Rights law does not have “ADA Police.” The law is to be enforced by private attorneys and the lawyers are awarded money, but many people do not see much enforcement and are not motivated to sue over the daily violations that they see. 

What does this mean for the disability community?

It's important to remember that this lawsuit is about alleged fraud. The ADA remains a vital piece of legislation that protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination. Disability Connection Midsouth remains committed to advocating for the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities and ensuring legitimate ADA claims are addressed.

This case does, however, raise awareness about the importance of understanding your rights and responsibilities under the ADA, both as a person with a disability and as a business owner.

Resources:

• For more information on the ADA, visit the ADA National Network.

• If you believe you have experienced ADA discrimination, you can find resources and file a complaint through the Department of Justice.

• For local resources and support, contact Disability Connection Midsouth.