The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) will implement a 90-day free fare pilot program in an attempt to increase ridership. But will it be effective?
The pilot, beginning Nov. 16, is a joint effort between MATA and the Memphis City Council. While the agency hopes the program will encourage more Memphians to take public transit, some say it fails to address the root of the problem.
“Of all the metrics that were included in (a rider survey), it shows that bus riders are mostly satisfied with how much it costs to ride the bus (72%) and that only 4% of customers said that ‘amount you pay to ride the bus’ is most important to them,” said Jackson McNeil, a former MATA board member and University of Memphis alumnus. “There are certainly good arguments to be made for free fare programs, but it seems pretty clear that this isn’t a priority for current bus riders.”…