MEMPHIS, Tennessee —
The Memphis Area Transit Authority is running on a big reduced Sunday schedule thanks to COVID-19. Bus riders have had to deal with social distancing on each bus. Officials say they know all of this is an inconvenience, but they’re doing what they think is right.
A morning where, at times, MATA service was so bumpy that it felt like the buses had square tires. Monday was the first workday where the system was running on a Sunday schedule. All of this is being done because of the coronavirus. If somebody’s job is non-essential, they are supposed to stay at home, but there are a lot of essential workers who can’t afford a car.
According to Justin Davis of the Memphis Bus Riders Union, “A lot of people who rely on MATA can’t afford, or don’t have jobs that allow them to work from home. We have a lot of fast food workers, hospital workers and a lot of people still relying on MATA to get to work.”
MATA has been forced to make big changes because of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the biggest is social distancing, only allowing a maximum of ten people at a time on a bus. The company did put some extra buses out during the morning rush to deal with overflow.
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