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Memphis Area Transit Authority Boss Feeling Optimistic About Funding

MATA Chief Gary Rosenfeld won't predict anything, saying it's up to the Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission. But there is more attent...

If you want the wheels on the bus to go ’round and ’round, you’ve gotta have more than just a driver.
Its why the Memphis Area Transit Authority is looking for diesel mechanics.
MATA held a job fair Thursday, and that’s nothing new for the once-cash strapped agency.

“We have close to 500 employees,” says the agency’s CEO, Gary Rosenfeld. “Hiring is a year-round process.”

I didn’t get hired.
Maybe because I can’t tell the difference between a piston and a hair plug.

For those who do get hired, they won’t have to worry about whether their paychecks will bounce, which was once a serious concern with MATA.
Funding has increased.
The system is better now than several years ago, all agree on that.
But it can be so much better.

Rosenfeld admits there are problems. 
“We’ve got parts of our community that are served in such a way that it takes two-and-a-half to three hours to get 15 or 16 miles across the city. That’s an unrealistic expectation,” he says.

An unrealistic expectation in a city with one of the highest poverty levels in the country.
A city where a bus is a necessity because a car is sometimes an unaffordable luxury.

“We need to be expanding services so that we deliver a better product, in an ever-changing transportation and mobility plan for our community,” says Rosenfeld. “People are not looking to stay stationary at home or in their community. They want to get out and about.”

The Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission discussed giving more money to MATA.
Studies have shown to get just adequate bus service the agency would need an additional $30-million.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris supports the county funding MATA, while Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has become a big supporter.
$30-million might not happen, but they’re talking, and that’s a big step, the experts say.

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