The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority plans to aggressively recoup $4.1 million in unpaid parking tickets.
Director of Parking and Special Projects Brent Matthews reported at CARTA’s February board meeting Thursday that CARTA had collected $65,000 from about 1,200 tickets since warning letters were sent last month. The unpaid fees from lots and meters have been piling up since 2018.
But Mr. Matthews said CARTA collects 70 to 80 percent of its fees immediately.
“We do a pretty good job of collecting on the front end,” he said. “There’s a lot of cities that would love to have the numbers we have.”
Mr. Matthews said that CARTA’s former parking manager, Republic Parking System, would send letters at intervals, but that CARTA had not pursued unpaid ticket revenues since it replaced Republic with Parking Concepts Inc. in November 2022.
“Letters are a good first step,” said board Chairman Johan de Nysschen, but that he wants to see “more intrusive enforcement,” including booting and impoundment.
In his new role as CARTA Chief Executive Officer, Charles Frazier continues to seek feedback from employees, riders and the Chattanooga community. He and board member Corey Evatt rode the bus this month to study passenger amenities such as mobile tickets and wait and ride times.
“We got to speak with them and hear about things that they want,” Mr. Frazier said.
He is also studying funding sources for CARTA. He’s meeting with transit authorities in peer cities such as Akron, Ohio, to learn how they pursue and process grant applications, and he met with the Benwood Foundation’s board of trustees.
“The meeting has sparked several follow-up meetings,” he said.
Mr. Frazier met with Local 1212 of the Amalgamated Transit Union and union president Lakecha Strickland in the name of “active listening,” he said.
CARTA Go and a “Fiscal Cliff"
Mr. de Nysschen said CARTA’s revenue sources, operational efficiency and spectrum of services need scrutiny if the transit agency is to avoid a “fiscal cliff.” In the past he has questioned the sustainability of the relatively new CARTA Go on-demand microtransit service, which serves Cromwell, East Brainerd, Eastdale and North Brainerd outside of fixed routes.
Mr. Frazier said he soon will present a financial forecast that reflects CARTA Go and CARTA’s fixed routes.
“I think both can live simultaneously,” Mr. Frazier said, but that each service needs a more specific policy that fits within CARTA’s mission and goals, starting with the size of the service zone and the size of the vehicles.
General Manager of Planning and Grants Philip Pugliese reported that CARTA Go has a 4.9 out of 5 user feedback rating and that CARTA Go was able to realize 75 percent out of 100,000 on-demand requests since service started in August 2022. CARTA rejected only 4 percent of those, he said, because it didn’t have the seats.
But members of the board asked if riders cancelled the other 21 percent because the pickup or drop-off location was too far away, or because the ride would be too long, also CARTA’s responsibility, they argued.
Mr. Frazier said local, human knowledge will likely raise that fulfillment number. He said Via Trasportation, the CARTA Go digital platform, is first a tech company, second a transportation company. CARTA can customize Via by each diverse service zone, and drivers can override Via’s algorithms.
Mr. Pugliese said that CARTA Go has about 5,000 accounts and adds about 250 more every month, without any marketing efforts.