Think tank’s report includes takeaways from six peer cities that have successfully recovered from transit agency crises, recommendations for rebuilding public trust
NASHVILLE – By hiring a CEO who is committed to transparency and empowered to make hard decisions, partnering with transit champions in the community, and improving service reliability and efficiency, Memphis can begin to rebuild public trust in its transit system, finds a new report by nonpartisan think tank ThinkTennessee. Drawing from interviews with transit agencies, officials, and experts from six U.S. cities who faced similar challenges, the think tank’s report provides key lessons learned for the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) and city leaders as they work to recover from recent challenges and rebuild trust with the community.
MATA is a crucial transit provider for working Memphians (half of MATA’s bus riders use transit to commute to work), yet funding shortfalls and past leadership decisions have led to a crisis of trust in the agency. The City Council restricted half of MATA’s $30 million FY2026 budget, which led to the interim CEO warning that without the remaining funds, public transit in Memphis would face dire consequences it may not be able to recover from. Since 2000, MATA’s fleet has shrunk from 155 to just 54 buses, and ridership has plummeted from 10.4 million in 2013 to 2.9 million in 2024, worsened by the pandemic.
“Our research shows that a reliable public transit system is not a luxury – it’s a necessity for any thriving city but is particularly important in a city like Memphis, where so many residents depend on it to access schools, jobs, and healthcare,” said Erin Hafkenschiel, president of ThinkTennessee. “The challenges MATA faces are serious but not insurmountable. By looking to peer cities that have overcome similar obstacles through strong leadership, a commitment to transparency, and community partnerships, Memphis can chart a path toward a robust and reliable transit future.”
ThinkTennessee shares three key takeaways from their interviews with peer cities:
- A CEO empowered to make hard decisions and committed to transparency can rebuild trust with stakeholders. A transit agency’s ability to navigate crises starts with hiring a strong CEO, with a close and trusted partnership with city leaders, who can rebuild trust with both external stakeholders and within the agency.
- Empowering community voices, responding to community identity, and identifying new transit champions can help agencies rebuild public trust. Transit agencies can rebuild public trust by seeking and utilizing community input, demonstrating responsiveness to community identity, and empowering transit champions to support and advocate for funding and improved service.
- Improving service, reliability, and efficiency is vital to rebuilding trust that transit agencies can be good stewards of public dollars. Even facing budget cuts, agencies can be more transparent about the levels of service they can provide given the funding they are allocated, ensuring they can achieve what they set out to do. Interviewees encouraged redesigning networks to optimize ridership, modernizing streetcar operations, and carefully evaluating on-demand services.
To read the full report Transit at a Crossroads: Peer City Lessons to Rebuild Trust in Memphis’s Transit System, visit thinktennessee.org/research/infrastructure/.
