Memphis Mayor Paul Young replaces entire MATA Board of Commissioners amid budget woes

Memphis Mayor Paul Young has replaced the entire Memphis Area Transit Authority board amid budgetary woes and mass transit cuts.

The new board of commissioners members will be as follows:

• Brandon Arrindale
• Cynthia Bailey
• Emily Greer
• Sandi Klink
• Brian Marflak
• Jackson McNeil
• Anna McQuiston
• Dana Pointer
• Maya Siggers

This action was taken following the receipt of Transpro’s initial draft report.

“This move is more about creating a clean-slate environment. After months of analysis, we received Transpro’s initial draft report today, which clearly spells out the challenges facing our transit system and the need to move with expediency. We believe the reset will help us to move more quickly toward our goal of creating a system that better connects our residents with jobs, healthcare, and essential services,” Young said in a statement.

The report by Transpro was conducted from a “rapid diagnostic” conducted between Aug. 19 and Oct. 11. The city engaged with Transpro Consulting to “operations and financial conditions” of MATA.

The report provided three sets of recommendations for the transit service.

• Meet the needs of the customer base
• ⁠Improve financial management and oversight to build greater trust with the community
• Get back to the basics

The report noted that MATA’s customer Net Promoter Score, which means a willingness to recommend service to friends and family members, was -17. The worst in the transit industry.

It noted that MATA’s customer satisfaction has declined by 49% since March 2018.

While the report did not conduct a financial audit, it noted that there are “significant gaps in fundamental tracking of contracts, major projects, and financial commitments.”

“Simply put, MATA customers’ greatest desire is reliable service ― and they are not getting it today,” the report stated.