MATA’s Transpro executive team has accomplished nothing. Transpro took the helm of MATA this January and has only blamed former MATA interim CEO, Bacarra Mauldin, for MATA’s problems, while proposing a new fake Main Street rubber wheeled trolley. That’s it !

Given Transpro’s lack of accomplishment, will Council Chair Ford Canale schedule an evaluation of the $4.25M Transpro FY26 allocation prior to Transpro contract execution in July?

Has Canale learned anything? Keep in mind Ford Canale was the Council Transportation Chair in 2022 and 2023, when the bulk of the MATA public rip occurred. In a 12/4/24, MATA Board Training meeting, Transpro described the rip as:

“$60M in COVID funds were squandered as core [MATA] services were allowed to deteriorate.”

During Canale’s time as Transportation Chair (2022-23), Canale, who has an accounting background, never asked for a MATA Budget or current financials. Publicly asking for the MATA financials, on the record, could have informed Council intervention of the MATA implosion at the time, saving millions in ripped off and squandered MATA funds. 

MATA had no monthly financials at the time and their June 30, 2024, fiscal year end annual audited financials remain publicly unavailable. So, has Canale learned anything, and will he schedule an evaluation of $4.25M in FY26 City budget allocated Transpro expenditures before the taxpayer is bound by contract?

As far as Transpro, I was initially optimistic regarding a $1.3M contract for executive MATA turnaround services. But Transpro has failed to deliver an optimized route plan, while joining the activist chorus and requesting $15M more in recurring dollars, primarily for fixed route bus services and a fake rubber wheeled Main Street trolley.

There is no basis for increased recurring fixed route bus funding after Memphis bus ridership has plummeted by 60% since COVID and below that of Knoxville, TN., which is ½ the size of Memphis. Nor has Transpro introduced any data tools such as the Federal Transit Database to help inform transit cost management.

In fact, ridership and financial reporting under Transpro has suffered with no ridership data presented at MATA Board meetings and deficient financial reporting unaligned to modes of transit in bus, on demand and trolley.

Additionally, while I remained hopeful, at the first MATA Board meeting under Transpro control, CEO John Lewis remarked, “Ok, we just got here.” Not True at All ! That remark was a letdown, at the time, as Transpro had extensive insight into MATA, after having been in Memphis 5 months prior, providing MATA consultation services to Mayor Young under another contract that preceded the $1.3M MATA executive services contract. And Transpro had previously engaged MATA in years prior to MATA’s recent implosion, which was the source of a still unanswered public information request.

So, questions in a Transpro evaluation would focus on Transpro staffing levels for $4.25M as well as a timeline for contract deliverables. The question is, has Ford Canale learned anything and will Canale schedule a Transpro evaluation, prior to taxpayers being bound by an executed $4.25M Transpro contract?

Check the Facts

12/4/24 MATA Training. https://matatransit.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=PA&ID=1244744&GUID=A205D5C0-2753-4D65-A543-846491094257

1/15/25 - https://wreg.com/news/local/mata-oks-contract-with-transpro-gets-new-interim-ceo/

2/4/25 - https://dailymemphian.com/article/49670/memphis-city-council-delays-emergency-funding-mata?utm_source=site_search&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=site_search

8/6/24 - https://dailymemphian.com/article/45554/memphis-hires-forensic-auditor-for-mata?utm_source=site_search&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=site_search