M C I L Journal
				MCIL Journal 2007
				MCIL Journal 2006
				MCIL Journal Index

The Memphis Center for
Independent Living Journal

Index
of previous MCIL Journals

4/7/00, 10:57 amc

The MATA board of Commissioners, none of which ride MATAplus, are considering raising the fare on the corrupt and incompetent system. The significant increase demonstrates that MATA is retaliating against citizens of Memphis with disabilities for demanding a proficiently run paratransit system. MATA has built a long history of administrative ineptitude in operating MATAplus, to where they are currently mismanaging three times the amount of public money they used in 1993, providing 20,000 fewer trips, and sticking their hands out for more.

THE MATA FARE INCREASE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IS NOT JUSTIFIED

The typical Memphian will face a 13 percent increase in bus fare, but people with disabilities will pay 55 percent then 85 percent more.

The disproportionate increase in fares for people with disabilities is not to raise revenue and improve the service; it is to provide LESS TRANSPORTATION to Memphians with significant disabilities. The unequal fare increase IS NOT JUSTIFIED.

First, and most important, citizens with disabilities in Memphis will pay their fair share for transportation. The fact is, less than half of the fixed-route service is accessible, MATA provides no travel training for people with disabilities, and the City of Memphis is more than 8 years behind in planning for public accessibility.

The system instituted to provide comparable service to people with disabilities; MATAplus, is poorly administered and lacks leadership and executive oversight. An independent paratransit consultant's report on MATA from May of 1998 states:

"The single greatest shortcoming at MATAplus is the lack of a commitment to quality."

It is unconscionable for MATA to disproportionately increase the fares of MATAplus riders because MATA administration has failed to competently manage the system. People with disabilities in Memphis should not pay for MATA executive staffs negligence, and ineptitude.

The paratransit consultant furthermore identified "the absence of leadership," as contributing to the failure of MATA; yet, the executive structure shows that no executive is in charge of MATAplus. Although MATAplus is called a separate Division, and MATAplus operators are hired and paid on a separate scale, there is no responsible administrative executive over this "phony" department.

Tim Wheat:

The result of poor service, inept administration and no leadership is that MATAplus is an inferior transit service and people with disabilities in Memphis are treated as "second-class" citizens.

For example, recently riders with disabilities pointed out safety concerns on many of the MATA vehicles. Federal safety standards require a 2-inch barrier on the side of the vehicle ramps to prevent a wheelchair from slipping off the side of the ramp and tipping over. Riders, in person, directly pointed to this safety concern on bus 105 two months ago on February 7th.

Bus 105 continues to load and unload passengers on the broken ramp.

Consider this list of unrepaired vehicles; it represents about half of the paratransit fleet.

Such disregard for safety would not occur in any other department. Safety is one example of inequity. How long would you wait for a bus? One hour, two? James Anglin, the operations manager of MATAplus told a customer with a disability that the bus "might come next week."

Poor, unsafe and undependable service has successfully reduced the ridership of MATA's most loyal customers. During the period of time MATA reported their compliance with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, ridership on MATAplus rose to over 160,000 trips a year.

But in 1997 MATA was no longer required to report to the Federal Transit Administration, quality suffered and more and more people with disabilities chose to remain at home. Last year, MATA provided only 110,000 paratransit trips, almost 17,000 fewer rides than in 1992.

Judy Neal:

Incompetent administration not only impacts quality of service, it also increases the cost. MATA contracts 10 to 20 percent of the service to a local taxi company, has purchased new paratransit buses and rents accessible vans to supplement the current fleet; yet, is unable to provide transportation to Memphians who need it.

MATA reported to the board of commissioners and the FTA that estimated paratransit certified riders would grow to over 4,200 in 1997. Today, MATA has less than 1,000 certified riders.

In slightly more than one year after I was certified to ride MATAplus, MATA required me to re-certify for paratransit. MATA uses the same form for certification and re-certification. Rather than fill out the five-page form with identical information, I thought I would help to reduce the bureaucratic burden and simply wrote MATA that my contact information had not changed, and that my eligibility information is the same. MATA did not acknowledge my letter; they simply sent me another certification form

Since then I learned that MATA certification policy is based on "self certification." MATA has absolutely no use for the intrusive medical information that they ask for on the five-page form. Still MATA administration insists that all riders with disabilities completely fill out the senseless form.

Today, MATA refused to provide me with service because I have not re-certified. Ironically, I cannot use my previous certification form as a guide because MATA has "lost" it. Thousands of Memphians, like me, have been frustrated by the unprofessional and inept administration of MATA. Unlike me, many will not fight to retain the service and make it more dependable.

Kevin Lofton:

I am currently a member of the Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee (STAC). The STAC as well as other MATAplus riders have been waiting for nearly four years for MATA administration to produce a riders guide and no-show policy. As of this date neither one have materialized.

You may wonder what this has to do with fare increases. The common denominator between the lack of a rider's guide and no-show policy and the proposed fare increases is the MATA Administration's inability to manage the MATAplus system. I do not believe fare increases that are aimed at persons with disabilities are the answer. If the MATAplus system were managed competently and efficiently these outrageous fare increases would be totally unnecessary.

I'll see you on April the 18th.

Deborah Cunningham:

People with disabilities in Memphis will pay their fair share. We are not asking for "special" or "unequal" treatment. People with disabilities already pay more per ride than the typical Memphian. "MATAplus is not working," said the former Director Lawson Albritton, "the supervision over there [at MATAplus Operations] has been little or none." MATA is now asking that we pay three to four times the standard increase for the paratransit system that MATA executives have abandoned.

The real cost of this increase, however, will be paid by the Memphis Community. Without equal access to the community, people with disabilities will be marooned to back rooms, inaccessible and inappropriate housing, excluded from the job market, and forced into institutions.

We will pay our fair share, but

We demand inclusion!

We demand access!

We demand equality!

We will see you on April 18th

- Tim Wheat

The Memphis Center for Independent Living
1633 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6404 v/tty (901) 726-6521 fax
mcil@mcil.org 

MCIL is a United Way of the Mid-South member Agency

Return to the top of this page

MCIL would like feedback on the accessibility of this website.  Please send your comments and concerns to webmaster@mcil.org

© 2006 Tim Wheat