The Lack of Transportation in Memphis, Tennessee Research Paper

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The Lack of Transportation in Memphis, Tennessee
Introduction
Discussing the city of Memphis without recognizing the role it has played in the music industry would be an injustice. Memphis is considered one of the birthplaces of rock & roll and blues music (Britannica). It is the hometown of composers W. C. Handy and Elvis Presley who are still remembered to date for their role in opening Memphis to the world. Memphis is also closely associated with the Civil Rights Movement. While visiting the city in 1968 in support of the sanitation worker’s strike, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by a sniper’s bullet on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel (History). Underlying these historic names and events is the fact that the city of Memphis’ transport system is struggling. This paper seeks to explore the problems in the transport system, causes, impact, and possible solutions for a sustainable and resilient city.
Memphis, Tennessee
The growth of Memphis as a city can be attributed to the expansion of the cotton industry in the south in the 1800s. Like many other cities across the United States, Memphis growth benefited from the advent of World War II. Scholars have argued that the city’s central location makes it a significant distribution point, and therefore, has been key in the growth of the city (Rushing 91). For instance, its international airport is the world’s second-busiest cargo airport behind Hong Kong according to the 2018 world airport traffic rankings by the Airports Council International (ACI). Further, the city remains among the country’s key inland river ports. The International Port of Memphis is the 5th largest inland port in the country spanning 15 miles along the Mississippi River (IPM).
Along the 15 miles stretch are more than 68 waterfront facilities that facilitate various commercial activities. They move products such as gravel, coarse grains, steel, coal, rock, cement, asphalt, and petroleum among others (IPM). The city also serves an agricultural area known for corn, livestock, feed grains, soybeans, hardwood, and other forest products (Britannica). Memphis boasts of being a global leader in hardwood trading (HMR), soybean processing (Shurtleff and Aoyagi 376), and cotton market (Wrenn). The city also has a manufacturing sector involved in paper products, medical equipment, and electronics (Area_Development). Therefore, Memphis is a busy city full of various economic activities that rely on an efficient transport system.
Memphis in Statistics
Memphis is the 26th largest city in the United States, second most populated in Tennessee, and the largest city along Mississippi River. According to data from the United States Census Bureau population estimates, as of 1st July 2019, Memphis’s population was 650,618 (Census.gov). The city has a population density of 2,327.4 people per square mile. African Americans are a majority in the city at 64.2% followed by whites at 29.1%. Memphis’s large African American population partially explains why the city was closely involved with the Civil Rights movement that resulted in the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Gritter). In terms of gender, Memphis’ population is dominated by women at 52.6%, another important statistic towards the construction of this paper. The city’s median age is 32.3 years with 290,457 people out of the total being formal employees. The growth rate of formal employment in the city was 0.945% as of the time of writing this paper (DataUSA). Memphis serves the Greater Memphis, a metropolitan area with an estimated population of 1,348,260 as of December 2017. Greater Memphis is the 42 seconds most populated metropolitan area in the United States.
Memphis Transport System
Given Memphis’ variety of economic activities and population, it would be expected that transport should be a priority in the planning of the city. An efficient and reliable transport system is a major contributor to sustainable development and economic growth (Wang, Xue, and Zhao). As explained earlier, Memphis is a hub of economic activities that require a reliable transport system for the growth and sustainability of the economy and therefore, the improvement of living standards of the residents of the city. A person living in Memphis and with activities in the city has several options for moving around the city. The most flexible alternative is the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) that runs a bus system connecting different destinations. People with operations within the city but reside out of the city rely on personal cars. Taxis are readily available while the city has plans in place to introduce a light rail system connecting the CBD with the airport.
Most people, and especially the most vulnerable in society rely on the MATA to navigate the city. A big problem is that while most of the people rely on the buses to commute to school, work, and other places, sometimes people must wait for almost an hour for a bus instead of 15 minutes which is considered the ideal duration (Smith, Buses, Bikes, & Birds: Fixing Memphis’ Transportation Issues). Bus riders in Memphis have complained that moving around the city requires patience because buses are more likely to run behind and the riders cannot afford to miss it. The consequence of this is that people are more likely to run late to their various destinations. City officials have argued that it requires about $30 million if the city will turn around its transport system (Washington).
The current public transport system facility in Memphis is struggling to meet the needs of the people of Memphis. A recent report by Memphis Daily News suggested that the annual ridership of buses in Memphis has decreased from 12 million trips to 8 million in a decade (Miller). Among the core reasons for this drop are the unreliable nature of public transport and the inability to afford tickets by the most vulnerable in the city. The price of Monthly ticket public transport in the city is $47. Therefore, apart from inadequate facilities, poverty is another issue that is lagging the transportation sector in the city.
The city of Memphis has a poverty rate of 27.8% with a child poverty rate of 44.9% ( Delavega and Blumentha). Memphis’ poverty rate is higher than the national poverty rate which was 11.8% as of 2018. This figure is also higher than 16.7% poverty rate of the state of Tennessee. Statistics suggest that poverty has increased for all ages of non-Hispanic African Americans while the poverty rate for non-Hispanic Whites in the city has continued to decrease to 11.8% ( Delavega and Blumentha). Memphis’s median household income was $39,108 as of 2017 with 26.8% consisting of persons living in poverty. Interestingly, as the national poverty levels are decreasing, Memphis town seems to be moving in the opposite direction. Since 2009 to date, the city’s minimum wage has not increased ( Delavega and Blumentha). Delavega and Blumentha (2019) argue that a worker on a $7.25 an hour working 40 hours a week through the year will earn $15,080 before paying taxes. This amount is extremely low once rent, groceries, and other expenses have been factored in. Further, given that the poverty threshold for a family of two was $16,460 at the end of 2018, it therefore implies that majority of the workers on minimum wage are living in poverty. The situation has an impact on their ability to afford public transport system.
As mentioned earlier, African Americans are the majority race in the city of Memphis. Further, the city has more women than men. Statistics indicate that these two groups have been historically marginalized through racial discrimination and gender inequality. In the United States, 20.8% of Black people were living below the poverty line in 2018. In contrast, 10.1% of Asians and 8.1% for Whites (Duffin). With Memphis’ increasing rate of poverty, people of color who remain the most vulnerable are likely struggling to use the public transport system because of costs. Women and children are also facing increasing poverty-related problems because women stay home more often than their male counterparts. This further explains the drop in annual ridership in the city as mentioned earlier.
In Memphis, high-income families have longer commute distances compared to low-income families (Antipova). According to the CTPP 2012 -2016 statistics, a typical commuter in Memphis t...