Students at Mercer’s Reg Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism reviewed nine local agencies on their compliance with state law as well as any extras they provided in making their work as transparent and accessible to the public as possible. You can read about the other agencies and see their rankings here.
The Macon-Bibb Transit Authority address: https://mta-mac.com/
Does the website list out its key staff, governing board or other leadership and how to contact them? The MTA website has a tab dedicated to displaying their current Board members. However, the website does not include any contact information (email or phone number) for any of their seven Board members. The Board’s members are Craig Ross (President & CEO), Louis Frank Tompkins (Chairman), Lynn Farmer (Vice-Chair), Dave Dickey (Board Member), Rachel Umana (Board Member), Charles Murphy (Board Member), Deborah Garcia (Board Member).
Does the agency have a public information officer? The MTA did not have a Public Information Officer listed on their website. Though no contact information is listed for any of the Board members, the MTA still provides a viable option for the public to voice their opinions to the board, making meeting times abundantly clear.
Does the website have information on meeting announcements/meeting dates & times? If so, where is this posted: As stated on the “Board Information” tab of the MTA website, Board meetings take place at 5:30pm on the last Tuesday of each month, and citizens are more than welcome to attend the meeting and address the board. The site does not provide information for anyone wanting to submit an open records request and the only social media platform the MTA is currently active on is Facebook. The MTA Facebook page is Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority.
Does the website have meeting agendas? While you are able to access some of the MTA’s old meeting agendas on their website, all meeting agendas are not made available.
Does the website have approved meeting minutes? Yes, these are available under the “Board Information” tab.
Does the agency provide a way for the public to watch its meetings virtually as they happen? And/or does agency have recordings of its meetings on the website or linked from the website? No.
Does the agency have social media platforms and if so, which ones? The Instagram account we found hasn’t been active for more than three years. But they do have a Facebook account which is active
Does the agency provide a way for the public to make open records requests? The MTA does not have a tab on their website for submitting an open records request.
Please note any other information you found on the website that would be helpful to members of the public who would want to keep up with this agency’s business: The website does provide fare information and bus routes and schedules. The public also can buy passes online and find information on bringing bicycles on buses and using paratransit.
Transparency Grade. SATISFACTORY to EXCELLENT: The Macon Transit Authority received a satisfactory grade for transparency because the agency had its meeting times posted on its website as required by law but also posted approved meeting minutes. The MTA did not post agendas.
Online Accessibility Grade. BELOW AVERAGE: The Macon Transit Authority received an Average grade for accessibility because Board members were listed, but contact information was not made readily available to the public. However, the MTA is active on Facebook, a great method to keep the public updated on what is happening within the agency.
