Memphis Area Transit Authority

Memphis Area Transit Authority, doing business as MATA, is a local government-owned transit authority based in Memphis, Tennessee, that receives federal grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration to procure and maintain public transportation infrastructure and services. MATA operates as a prime federal grant recipient (88% of recent awards) with no contracting footprint; all federal engagement flows through Federal Transit Administration formula grants and discretionary grants under CFDA programs 20.507 (Federal Transit Formula Grants), 20.513 (Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities), 20.525 (State of Good Repair Grants), and 20.526 (Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Competitive, and Low or No Emissions Programs).

MATA's recent grant work centers on fleet modernization, transit infrastructure, and preventive maintenance for the Memphis and Shelby County service area. Representative awards include a $70.6 million Federal Transit Administration grant obligated in August 2025 to design and construct a new operations and maintenance facility (27-acre site, 240-vehicle capacity) replacing a 40-year-old deteriorated facility; a $5.96 million formula grant obligated February 2026 for procurement and delivery of up to eight 40-foot diesel buses and spare components; a $2.47 million State of Good Repair formula grant obligated January 2026 for preventive maintenance of MATA's rail system and rail facility improvements; and a $19.9 million project grant obligated August 2021 for purchase of ten electric buses, electric charging infrastructure, and three years of operating assistance for airport-connecting routes. MATA also received $32.17 million in American Rescue Plan section 5307 operating assistance (January 2022) and $6.64 million in Coronavirus Response Relief Supplemental Appropriations operating funds (September 2022), both now closed. Additional active grants fund the Memphis Innovation Corridor project ($2.33 million formula grant, August 2024, for 16 transit stations, traffic signal reconstruction, and signal priority infrastructure) and ADA paratransit vehicles for MATAplus service ($2.83 million formula grant, June 2024, for two 29-passenger buses and up to ten vans; plus two smaller project grants in 2023 totaling $246,666 for van replacement).

MATA's customer concentration is entirely within the Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, which accounts for 109 of 136 total awards in the source data. Secondary grant activity flows from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (17 awards) for emergency and disaster relief, the Army Corps of Engineers Memphis Engineering District (9 awards, $23 thousand combined potential value), and the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Integrated Service Network 9 (1 award, $4 thousand combined potential value). MATA operates under a single Blanket Purchase Agreement (W912EQ11A0004) with the Army Corps of Engineers carrying five task orders and $6 thousand combined potential value, representing minimal commercial contract exposure; the vast majority of activity is grant-based.

Recent activity has declined substantially—two awards in both 2025 and 2026, down from four awards in 2022 and five in 2023. MATA holds one award reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating limited near-term recompete exposure. The source describes no subrecipient activities across MATA's active grant portfolio; all work is performed directly by MATA as the designated recipient for the Memphis urbanized area. MATA does not hold federal contracts as a prime or subcontractor and does not sit on federal contract vehicles, IDIQs, or GWACs. The organization's federal engagement is exclusively grant-recipient, not procurement-vendor.