Home › Travel Guides › North America Travel Guide › United States of America › Tennessee › Memphis › Getting around Memphis

Getting around Memphis

Public transport: 

The Memphis Area Transit Authority - MATA (tel: (901) 274 6282; www.matatransit.com) operates buses and a streetcar service - the Main Street Trolley. Vintage trolley cars run along Main Street, Madison Avenue and on a Riverfront Loop. The service is inexpensive and runs every 10 to 15 minutes. Sunday service stops early.

Taxis: 

Taxis must be booked by telephone. Recommended taxi firms include Yellow Cab Company (tel: (901) 577 7777) or City Wide Cab Company (tel: (901) 324 4202).

Driving: 

Traffic can be heavy during rush hour, from 0730 to 0900 and 1700 to 1830. The city is mainly laid out on a grid, with avenues running east-west and streets running north-south. Driving is on the right. Right turns on red lights are permitted unless otherwise stated. Metered street-parking or parking lots are available Downtown. There is a free car park between Front Street and the river.

Car hire: 

Some companies require International Drivers Permits as well as a national licence, so check. Drivers must be over 25 years old.

All major companies have offices, including Alamo (tel: (901) 332 8412 or 1 800 327 9633; www.alamo.com), Avis (tel: (901) 346 6129 or 1 800 331 1212; www.avis.com), Budget (tel: (901) 398 8888 or 1 800 527 0700; www.budget.com), Hertz (tel: (901) 345 5680 or 1 800 654 3131; www.hertz.com) and Thrifty (tel: (901) 999 1111 or 1 800 367 2277; www.thrifty.com).

Bicycle hire: 

Hire bikes at the Peddler Bicycle Shop (tel: (901) 327 4833; www.peddlerbikeshop.com). Outdoors Inc. (www.outdoorsinc.com) has two locations, at 5245 Poplar Avenue (tel: (901) 767 6790), and 1710 Union Avenue (tel: (901) 722 8988).

Recommended Sites:

Protect yourself from malaria
Before you travel, find out if your holiday destination is in a malaria zone.
(An educational initiative organised and funded by GlaxoSmithKline Travel Health. UK/MARK/0173/10 September 2010)
Travel insurance
For residents of over 150 countries. High levels of medical, evacuation, emergency & most adventure activities covered.