Somewhere, somehow, I stumbled upon this organization and their monthly newsletter.
Citizens For Progressive Transit
…their website seems to be a tad behind…I’m sharing the July, 2018 newsletter with you here, and the website has April, 2018…so the best way to keep up with them would be to subscribe to receive the newsletter. But the highlights of July are:
Marta Takes Over Atlanta Street Car –$1 Fare Continues
The Atlanta Streetcar was turned over to MARTA on July 1. But they opted to keep the $1 fare, which has been blamed for the dramatic drop in ridership. It should probably be included in your regular MARTA fare, and you could transfer to the Streetcar.
I’ll give Atlanta credit for trying, in getting the Streetcar started. (You remember the plans called for it to run from Downtown to Buckhead on Peachtree Street, but the funding was not there, along with some lack of interest, challenges with it being on Peachtree, etc, etc.) But, to go from Centennial Olympic Park to the King Center….not much service there.
ARC Grants to Expand Suburban Bus Service
Douglas County (that’s way out West for us In-Town folks) will get its first fixed-route bus service, and Cobb and Gwinnett will get to expand, due to new federal funding by the ARC.
Bond Money to Go For GA 400 Bus Service
Gov. Deal announced that recently approved bonds to raise $100M will be used in North Fulton County to facilitate MARTA bus service along GA400.
A Faster Path to Regional Rail (THIS one caught my eye big time!)
We’ve talked about regional passenger rail. And talked. And studied. And talked and studied…..but nothing. Yet North Carolina has launched a fourth daily round-trip on its state-funded Amtrak line, running from Charlotte to Raleigh. The three round trips carried 427,000 people last year. HELLO GEORGIA? It’s the 21st Century…and we can’t keep widening roads or adding cars.
This is why I love reading the Citizens For Progressive Transit newsletter….it keeps me informed.
You can read the entire newsletter here.
You can JOIN CFPT, and subscribe to the newsletter HERE.
