------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NewsBank, inc. - The Commercial Appeal - 2000 - Article with Citation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Headline: SEAT OF AUTHORITY \ NEWEST MATA BOARD MEMBER STANDS FIRM FOR RIGHTS OF DISABLED Date: October 16, 2000 Section: News Page: A1 Edition: Final Length: 878 words Author: Blake Fontenay The Commercial Appeal Index Terms: APPOINTMENT TRANSPORTATION MEMPHIS DISABLED Text: One of Cliffie Pugh's worst experiences with MATAplus, the city's bus service for the disabled, may have been a blessing in disguise. The incident happened last summer, when a MATAplus driver left Pugh, who uses a wheelchair, stranded after Sunday church. After years of problems with MATAplus, Pugh was so frustrated, she requested a meeting with Will Hudson, the Memphis Area Transit Authority's president and general manager. That encounter may have led to Pugh's selection as a MATA board member, where she will have an opportunity to fix system problems from the inside. The City Council recently appointed the 65-year-old retiree to a seat on the seven-member board, which sets policy for the city's transit services. At the top of her priority list is more attention for the needs of disabled riders - a group that frequently has complained about inferior service from MATA. "I've been riding the bus for 11 years, and it's been one disaster after another with MATAplus," Pugh said. "We just need someone in our corner." MATA's efforts to improve service for the disabled have been under increased scrutiny for several years. Tennessee Protection & Advocacy Inc., a nonprofit advocacy agency for the disabled, filed a formal complaint alleging MATAplus didn't provide the level of service required by federal law. The complaint prompted the Federal Transit Administration to review MATAplus this year. The FTA's findings, along with MATA's suggested plans for improvement, were released in August. Among other changes, MATA pledged to deploy 13 new paratransit buses, hire two more drivers, three additional full-time support workers and make various improvements to the reservation system. Even with those changes, MATA chairman M.P. Carter expects that having a person with disabilities on the board will spur other improvements in the paratransit service. "We have had some problems in that regard," Carter said. "We're hoping her insight will take us to a higher level. I think she can give us things that we wouldn't see ourselves." Other than a brief stint in Michigan, Pugh has lived in Shelby County most of her life, first in Millington and later in Memphis. She worked for 11 years as a "runner" in the Baptist hospital pharmacy department, delivering medicine to doctors. After returning from a three-year stay in Michigan, she worked as a sales associate for Burlington Coat Factory and Dillard's department store. Pugh, a widow with a daughter and a grandson, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in her mid-20s, after severe headaches caused temporary blindness in her left eye. With medication, the disease went into remission and her sight returned. The disease flared up in the early 1980s after she had returned to Memphis, eventually forcing her to use a wheelchair. She volunteers at the information desk for Methodist Health Care Central while drawing a disability pension. "She's one of those people who has a very pleasing personality," said Robert Carter, the hospital's director of volunteer services. "She has a disability, but it doesn't hamper her work. She does everything she's asked to do." Pugh said she had never thought much about serving on MATA's boar until Hudson contacted her a few weeks after their meeting last summer. Pugh freely admits she doesn't know much about MATA's regular "fixed route" bus service or its trolley service, two of the board's areas of responsibility. Yet Hudson said Pugh's personality and familiarity with MATAplus issues helped convince him to write a letter of reference to Mayor Willie Herenton, who nominates board appointees to the council. "She has a lot of knowledge about the regulations and works well with others," Hudson said. Representatives from The Center for Independent Living and Barrier Free Memphis Society, two local advocacy groups for people with disabilities, said that although they don't yet know Pugh very well, they view her appointment as a sign of progress. "We wanted this to happen for a long time," said Betty Anderson, president of Barrier Free Memphis Society. "If you don't ride MATAplus, then you can't understand the problems MATAplus has had." Tim Wheat, a spokesman for The Center for Independent Living, said having a person with disabilities as a board representative should be extremely helpful, although "certainly we don't expect one person to be our knight in shining armor to solve all of our problems." According to Anderson, Pugh was reminded of the challenges that remain for MATAplus Oct. 3, the day of Pugh's council appointment. After the two women finished a meeting in Councilman Myron Lowery's office, they left City Hall to catch a MATAplus bus. The bus, scheduled to pick up Pugh at 3 p.m., didn't arrive until 4 p.m., Anderson said. To reach reporter Blake Fontenay, call 529-2386 or E-mail fontenay@gomemphis.com Copyright 2000 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN Accession Number: 0010160030 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------