In February of 2012, the Memphis Bus Riders Union (MBRU) was founded. According to their website, MBRU is a “grassroots organization that fights for better bus service in our city, providing input about MATA practices and policies with key decision-makers, including the MATA board and administration as well as city government.” MATA, or Memphis Area Transit Authority, provides public transportation for the Memphis area.

The union works to combat systemic racism and oppression based on socioeconomic status in Memphis’s public transportation system. These intersections can be seen through the demographic of the bus riders, of whom 90% are black, a majority of whom are women, and 60% of riders have yearly incomes of less than or equal to $18,000. The union cites that these statistics demonstrate how the bus system contributes to inequitable economic development and residential segregation and disproportionately affects low-income residents and communities of color. According to MBRU Treasurer Bennett Foster, shutting down intercity routes has forced historically black schools, such as Booker T. Washington, to close because students no longer had any way to commute to school.

While the bus system is difficult to access for people in low-income areas that rely on public transport daily for necessities such as going to work, school, and grocery shopping among other needs, it operates with greater frequency and reliability in areas in which it is utilized by primarily white people and people with higher incomes, such as on Poplar Avenue. Buses are also more accessible to tourists who, if they ride the buses at all, only use them a few times before leaving. Not only that, but people in higher income areas typically have their own vehicles and do not rely on public transportation as much as do people in areas where the bus service is spotty and of much lower quality, as evidenced in poorer areas by fewer sidewalks, a lack of bus shelters, and unpredictable service.

The MBRU further argues that the funding, planning, and function of mass transit is a civil rights issue in that the intersections of race, class, and transportation work to further divide the city and act as an obstacle to integration of the different communities in Memphis. Other problems the union are working to eliminate are the inadequate quality and placement of routes and bus stops, buses frequently catching on fire, and poor distribution of the budget.

“MATA prioritizes routes for tourists over routes for routine bus users,” MBRU Co-Chair Cynthia Bailey said, who has ridden the buses for 25 years.

Indeed, to say that the buses are inadequate for lack of available funding would be gross simplification. There are funds for transit, but for example, they are allocated to downtown trolleys, novelties that are expensive to maintain, instead of to bus services in communities in which people rely on them daily for a number of services.

The union also supports the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which consists of and supports the bus drivers. According to www.atu.org, “despite record ridership, U. S. public transit systems are carrying out some of the steepest fare increases and deepest service cuts in recent history.” They fight for the health and safety of their workers, and the MBRU shares its interest in keeping and creating those jobs.

“We have a good, middle class job in Memphis, and it’s the bus drivers,” Bailey said.

One of the union’s goals is to work toward closing the wage gap by providing employment opportunities for middle class workers. They argue that people of color who earn middle class incomes are hurt most by limited access to and closure of parks, community centers, schools, and bus lines.

According to MBRU Co-Chair Sammie Hunter, the mayor of Memphis has recently allocated $7.5 million for transit and that $5 million can go toward procuring 9 new buses, which Hunter emphasized is a small victory and a step toward improving public transit.

“We have new buses coming,” Hunter said. “We’re trying to get this transportation system better.”

Regarding their approach to effecting change, the MBRU is now focusing on protests and civil rights law upon concluding speaking at MATA meetings was ineffective.

“MATA only lets people speak for about two minutes,” Bailey said.

The union had tried to land someone on the MATA board but realized the board had no power and that they only do what the administration wants. The MATA board members and CEO are appointed by the mayor, and the CEO then hires administrative officers. By investing the hiring and firing of the entire administration in one individual, there is little room left for checks and balances within this system, which could prove as an obstacle to diversity of ideas and genuinely democratic decisions.

The union also stated intent to eventually take their grievances to court because of the disparate impact, or the discriminatory impact on racial groups, that transportation has had on communities in Memphis. According to Attorney Chris Martin, the disparate impact evidenced by the unequal service of public transportation in Memphis could be a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law, regardless of whether there is intent to discriminate.

Some Rhodes College students were required to ride the buses for the experience and saw firsthand what the transit system is like.

“My group hopped onto the bus where we were greeted by a friendly bus driver that helped us determine what stops to get off at, and friendly riders that asked us questions about where we were headed,” Rhodes College rising senior Taylor Morris said. “All was going well, the bus came on time, we were headed in the right direction, and we arrived at our stop. So as we arrived at the next bus stop, before the bus was set to arrive, we waited. Time passed, and then over 45 minutes later after waiting for the bus, we started walking back to the bus terminal to hop on another bus to bring us back to Rhodes. As we were walking the 10 blocks to the terminal, we see our bus that was supposed to be there over 45 minutes ago pass in front of us. It left us feeling very frustrated, and as we were making the hike back to the terminal we thought about what if we needed to get to a certain place at a certain time and that bus was late which then makes us late.”

Morris’s account reflects the reality frequent bus riders in Memphis face on a daily basis. In addition to unpredictable service in certain areas of the city, there are no time charts at bus stops to let riders know when to expect the bus. Students had been able to use their phone data to look them up, but that is a luxury not all riders have. Additionally, there is often no place to sit at bus stops in poorer areas or shade or any form of shelter, which can be especially hazardous in extremely hot or cold weather.

People interested in supporting Memphis buses are encouraged to ride the buses at least once for the experience and are welcome to MBRU meetings which are held the second Saturday of every month at 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM at the Memphis Center for Independent Living, 1633 Madison Ave. For more information, visit www.mbru.org.

Bailey said, “We’re out here trying to fight, and we’re going to keep fighting until we get justice.”