Metro Atlanta Transit Archives -

Atlanta Transit News

June 20, 2016 by Thom Abbott

Atlanta Transit News

Atlanta Streetcar Example — Streetcar in Portland, OR

I always like to talk Atlanta Transit News! No doubt, Atlanta is a MAJOR metropolitan area with a MINOR transit system. I don’t say this to scare anyone if you are looking to move to Atlanta, but you just may want to consider where you live and where you work and what your potential commute to and from work could be!

Case in point….an article I saw on Brookhaven Patch, talks about the future growth of the Atlanta area, and specifically mentions Forsyth County, which is North of Atlanta, accessible by GA400 or GA 141 (Peachtree Parkway). Cities like Johns Creek, which IS in Forsyth County (and borders North Fulton County) passed a resolution that they DON’T WANT MARTA coming to their city. Seriously? Yet this very article talks about Forsyth County being the fastest growing county in ALL of Georgia in 2014-2015! And it projects that the area will see a 58% increase in population growth between now and 2030!!!!

I’m here to tell you…all them cars are NOT going to fit on an already clogged GA400 coming in or going out during commute times!

But I subscribe to the Citizens for Progressive Transit newsletter, which always has good information about transit and what may be happening in our city.

You can read the Citizens For Progressive Transit newsletter here.

The City of Atlanta will be looking to get some new transit projects going with the legislation approved by the Georgia General Assembly this past Spring. The big challenge Atlanta is having with transit (well besides the fact that we can’t seem to get people to VOTE FOR IT….) is that to run rail lines now, will involve displacing homes and businesses. It’s a shame the routes were not laid out years ago and protected from development, but that did not happen. So now, many options are directed towards bus rapid transit as a way to get people around.

Maybe one day.

Metro Atlanta Transit Will We EVER Figure It Out?

January 13, 2015 by Thom Abbott

I don’t claim to know, or understand every issue around transit, or the serious lack thereof in the Metro Atlanta area. I do know our system never developed to keep up with the growth of the city.

Metro Atlanta Transit Will We EVER Figure It Out?

Case in point … WMATA(Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority approved plans for a 98-mile (158 km) regional system in 1968. Construction began after a groundbreaking ceremony on December 9, 1969, when Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe, District Mayor Walter Washington, and Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel tossed the first spade of dirt at Judiciary Square.

Opened in 1976, the network has grown to include six lines, 91 stations, and 117 miles

The DC Metro System today…..

Then Atlanta …. Construction began on the MARTA system in 1975, with the first rail service commencing on June 30, 1979. The system has since built most of the proposed rail lines, as well as stations in Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, and North Springs which were not included in the original plan. The missing rail segments include a Tucker-North DeKalb line with service to Emory University andNorth Druid Hills, a Northwest line with service to Brookwood and Northside Drive, extension of the West line to Brownlee-Boulder Park near Fairburn Road, extension of the Proctor Creek line to West Highlands, and a branch off the south line to Hapeville and Clayton County.

The MARTA rapid rail system has 47.6 miles of route and 38 rail stations located on four service lines.

Yes, we’ve made a baby step forward and now for the first time in more than 65 years, streetcars are on the streets of Downtown Atlanta. I can only imagine being able to connect to the Beltline, to MARTA and then off to who knows where? I can dream, right?

There is an Atlanta based organization that I discovered with some great information about transit. Citizens For Progressive Transit. Check out some of the info on this site. Or you can find their January, 2015 Newsletter here. It’s worth a read and the interesting transit talk that will happen this year at the state level.

I just know, that if we really want to be the world-class city we really want to be….transit needs to be a critical part of it….and our love of the automobile needs to go through some serious therapy.

MARTA Takes Riders For a Ride…Literally!

September 30, 2011 by Thom Abbott

MARTA Fare Increase October 1, 2011 Come Sunday, MARTA (Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) is taking you for more than your normal ride from home to work or perhaps the Atlanta Airport. It’s 25% fare increase to $2.50 ONE WAY goes into effect on Sunday. But get this, monthly pass riders get hit with a whopping 40% increase, going from $68 per month to $95 per month. OUCH! Fares have risen 43 percent and 81 percent since 2009 which is when MARTA had their first fare increase in 8 years.

The fare is now on par with New York and Washington, D.C. But sadly the service is anything like those cities. First off, you can go pretty much anywhere in those cities via transit, and they run 24 hours a day. MARTA does neither of these.

An article that appeared in the AJC says many people will now rethink riding transit and go back to their cars. Keep in mind, parking rates in Atlanta are still very reasonable, compared to cities like NYC and DC. A Georgia State student commented they could be a monthly parking pass for $45. Heck, who wouldn’t drive their own car!

For me personally, I own a home close to the Doraville Transit station. If I choose to ride MARTA to an event downtown, it costs me $15 round trip for 3 of us. I can search and find parking for that amount, the gas cost is minimal, and I’ve got the freedom to get home when I want.

All this also comes at a time when the Metro Atlanta area is getting ready to consider adding a 1% sales tax to fund some $6 Billion in transportation projects over the next 10 years. Voters will vote on the list of projects next summer. The actual list of what will be voted on is to be set later this month by a roundtable of stakeholders from the region. However, the in fighting has already begun. The suburbs don’t want any part of what Intown Atlanta wants or needs, and vice versa.

It will be an interesting winter as this is hashed out via public relations campaigns to convince voters to approve the measure. If it fails…..who knows what commuting in Atlanta will be like 10 years from now.

Atlanta Transit News

Metro Atlanta Transit Will We EVER Figure It Out?

HomeSmart