The Memphis Area Transit Authority will begin forming a transit vision plan this September, a necessary step to securing state dollars for a sweeping expansion of the city's bus system.

With the approval of its board and City Council early next year, MATA could add 200,000 hours of additional bus service as early as July 2019, said interim MATA CEO Gary Rosenfeld. The expansion could significantly shorten sometimes hours-long wait times for MATA riders, who take about 7.5 million trips annually, creating new jobs and schooling opportunities.

But the expansion would require a $30 million increase in annual operating costs, in addition to a capital investment to expand MATA's bus fleet, Rosenfeld told council members in a committee meeting Tuesday. MATA needs a dedicated funding stream, rather than varying contributions from the city and grants.

"It would take some time to implement that level of service," he said.

Gov. Bill Haslam's recently approved IMPROVE Act — an acronym for “Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy Act” — gives MATA and the city "various options" to set up dedicated funding, including adding surcharges on rental car trips, Rosenfeld said.

But before MATA can secure dedicated funding sources, it needs to create a vision plan, Rosenfeld said. To create that plan — part of the Memphis 3.0 comprehensive plan that's in the works — the city and Innovate Memphis will work with MATA to organize a stakeholder conference Sept. 25, a planners conference October 9-12 and public input meetings afterward.

The plan would go to the MATA board and the City Council in February or March of 2018, Rosenfeld said.

The expansion could pave the way for new partnerships with local higher education and public schools, Rosenfeld said. Schools could pay MATA for increased frequency of service for students and MATA could issue student bus passes.

"It also allows us to groom bus riders for the future," Rosenfeld said.

Talks with Shelby County Schools are ongoing but took a "step backward" because of recent staff changes, Rosenfeld said. MATA spokeswoman Nicole Lacey said Rosenfeld was referring to staff changes at SCS, not the resignation of former CEO Ron Garrison, who was charged with patronizing prostitution in January and later entered an Alford plea — a plea deal that accepts punishment without admitting guilt.

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter at @ryanpoe.