MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The future of public transportation in Memphis could depend, in part, on a fee on your energy bill.
Some city leaders are kicking around the idea of a transportation fee tacked on your MLGW bill that could help fund MATA, an organization that says it is facing significant financial problems.
However, the fee would likely cover more than just buses.
MATA CEO Ron Garrison said he does not know details of the possible transportation fee, but he is hopeful.
“I’ve just kind of been on the sidelines. Certainly, I hope that that’s an avenue of funding for MATA and for our customers, but I’m not as briefed on that as everyone else,” Garrison said.
MLGW customers have mixed opinions about the possibility even though it is still a long ways off.
“Well, everybody needs transportation. So, if that’s the only type of transportation that a person has, then I guess,” said MLGW customer LoShonda Brown.
“I don’t have a lot details about what it is, what the cost’s going to be, but it’s adding on to your utility bill anymore? No, I don’t like that idea. It’s high enough,” said MLGW Customer Bobbie Harris.
Memphis City Council Member Edmund Ford, Jr did not have time to interview in person with WREG Thursday but said the MATA component is only a piece of the puzzle.
He is meeting with Public Works and other city leaders about possibly using a fee to fund transportation improvements across the city, like potholes, paving, and sidewalks.
The fee would likely vary for people in apartments, homes, and commercial properties.
He does not think he will bring anything to the council before July, but he believes the change could bring between $45-50 million annually.
Garrison told the council this week that MATA is facing major financial problems and is asking for an additional $12 million.
“We’re now to the point where we must have adequate capital funds to get new buses. We desperately need more new buses,” Garrison said.
The mayor’s Innovate Memphis team is looking at ways to increase MATA funding.
As for whether or not the mayor thinks a transportation fee is the solution?
In a statement, the mayor told us, “… any discussion of a particular funding option to improve MATA is premature at this point until we have had a chance to look at all the options available.”
Ford said the public will be a part of the discussion.
He said if the fee accrues a certain amount of money and not all of that money gets allocated to transportation projects, he wants the money refunded to property owners, possibly through a rebate or property tax decrease.
