| 
 | August
5, 2008: MATA Board Member dies: Otto Wetzel who died at the age of 83 on
July 31, spent most of his life battling polio and was a staunch advocate for
public transportation which became his main mode of transportation. He served
on various local civic and cultural boards as well as that of the McKinney Avenue
Transit Authority. He was a founding member of the West End association and was
known as "The Godfather of the West End." He was an innovator, implementer
and visionary whose "can-do attitude" made a difference in Dallas. He
will be sorely missed.
| | January
24, 2008: Good-bye to an Uptown icon: The former Hard Rock Cafe on
McKinney has been demolished. The club (in the old McKinney Avenue Baptist Church
that was built in 1913) opened in 1986 and
closed in March 2007. The Hard Rock Cafe was a popular destination for many streetcar
riders and thereby helped increase our revenue. The Cafe partnered with MATA in
many activities. It also provided a nostalgic background for streetcar photographs.
| | January
26, 2007: MATA's connection to the rescue of another former Dallas
streetcar. Click here for
the story and photographs.
| | December
8, 2006: New Ridership Record Set. As of this date, MATA has carried 209,000
passengers for the year exceeding the total ridership for 2005 (193,724).
John Landrum, Our Chief Operating Officer, attributes the gain to free rides and
our keeping our cars well maintained and running on time. He notes that many people
are starting to depend on our streetcars as a means of reliable transportation.
(Click
here for 3-year comparison chart.) | |
