Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
Encyclopedia
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority or MARTA (icon) is the principal rapid-transit
system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting of 48 miles (77.2 km) of rail track with 38 train stations. MARTA operates almost exclusively in Fulton
and DeKalb
counties, with bus service to two destinations in Cobb
county (Six Flags Over Georgia
and the Cumberland
Transfer Center next to the Cumberland Mall
) and a single rail station in Clayton
County at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
. MARTA also operates a separate paratransit
service for disabled customers. , the average total daily ridership for the system (bus and rail) was 482,500 passengers.
MARTA was originally proposed as a rapid transit agency for the five largest metropolitan Atlanta counties: DeKalb
, Fulton
, Clayton
, Gwinnett
, and Cobb
counties. MARTA was formed by an act of the Georgia General Assembly
in 1965. In the same year, four of the five metropolitan area counties (Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett) and the City of Atlanta
passed a referendum authorizing participation in the system, but the referendum failed in Cobb County. Although a 1968 referendum to fund MARTA failed, in 1971, Fulton and DeKalb Counties successfully passed a 1% sales tax increase to pay for operations, while Clayton and Gwinnett counties overwhelmingly rejected the tax in referendum, fearing the introduction of crime and "undesirable elements". In 1971, the agency agreed to purchase the existing, bus-only Atlanta Transit Company
and on February 17, 1972 the sale was completed for US$12.9 million giving the agency control over all public transit.
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 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
and North 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 Perry Homes, and a branch off of the south line to Hapeville
.
MARTA is composed of both heavy rail rapid transit and a bus transit system that operates primarily within the boundaries of Fulton and DeKalb counties. Exceptions to this service area include the Airport Station
and 7 miles (11.3 km) of rail that are located in Clayton County and one bus route to Cobb County's Cumberland Boulevard Transfer Center. For the fiscal year 2006, the average weekday ridership was 451,064. Over the entire year, bus and para-transit ridership was 69,194,285, whereas rail ridership was 69,209,027.
The MARTA system allows bicycles on its trains and buses at any time. At the Atlanta International Airport
, bicycles can be locked up in all of the parking decks, so long as they are not obstructing either pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
In 2007, MARTA had 4,729 full and part-time employees, of whom 1,719 were bus drivers or train operators. rail and bus operators, the station agent
s, the rail maintenance workers, and many other employees of MARTA are represented in negotiations by the Amalgamated Transit Union
's Local 732.
MARTA has its own police department with 300 badge-wearing officers, making it the ninth-largest police department in Georgia.
(prior to October 2009, known as the North-South Line), Gold Line
(former Northeast-South Line), Blue Line
(former East-West Line), and the Green Line
(former Proctor Creek Line). The tracks for this system are a combination of elevated, ground-level, and underground tracks.
The deepest station in the MARTA system is the Peachtree Center Station
which is located in a hard-rock tunnel, 120 feet (36 meters) beneath downtown Atlanta, where the highest hills in Atlanta soar to 1100 feet (300 meters) above sea level
. No artificial lining of any kind was installed in the walls or the ceilings of this station, or the adjacent tunnels, but rather, the architects and civil engineers for this station decided to leave these with their rugged gneiss
rock walls.
MARTA switched to a color-based identification system in October 2009. Formerly, the lines were named based upon their terminal stations, namely: Airport
, Doraville
, North Springs
, H. E. Holmes
, Bankhead
, King Memorial
, Candler Park
, Indian Creek
; or by their compass direction. During the transition between the two naming systems, all stations on the Red and Gold lines are using their original orange signs, and all stations on the Blue and Green lines are using their original blue signs.
All of the rail lines have an ultimate nexus at the Five Points station
, located in downtown Atlanta. MARTA trains are operated using the Automatic Train Control
system, with one human train operator per train present to make announcements, operate the doors, and to operate the trains manually in case of a control system malfunction or an emergency. Many of the suburban stations have free daily and paid long-term parking in park and ride
lots. These stations also have designated kiss and ride passenger drop-off areas close to the station's entrances.
steel-wheel trains which can operate at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (112.7 km/h). The trains are powered by an electrified third rail
and can be operated in any combination from two to eight rail car
s.
The MARTA rail car fleet is currently composed of three different classes of married pair
rail cars:
MARTA contracted with Alstom
to rebuild 98 of the CQ310 cars and all CQ311 cars (218 rail cars in total). The rehabilitated cars feature upgraded passenger amenities and upgraded propulsion and train control hardware. The first rehabilitated cars began service on March 12, 2006. The rehabilitation was completed on February 23, 2009.
MARTA's bus system serves a wider area than the rail system, serving areas in Fulton and DeKalb counties such as the cities of Roswell
and Alpharetta in North Fulton, along with South DeKalb. As of 2010, MARTA has 554 diesel and compressed natural gas
buses that cover over 91 bus routes which operated 25.9 million annual vehicle miles (41.7 million kilometers). Effective November 20, 2006, MARTA now has one bus route providing limited service in Cobb County (Route 12 has been extended to Cobb County's Cumberland Boulevard Transfer Center). All of the MARTA bus lines feed into or intersect MARTA rail lines as well. MARTA shuttle service is available to Six Flags Over Georgia
during the park's summer season.
In addition to the free parking adjacent to many rail stations, MARTA also operates five Park and ride
lots serviced only by bus routes (Windward Parkway, Mansell Road, Stone Mountain, Barge Road, and South Fulton).
(ADA), MARTA provides paratransit
for those persons defined as disabled by the ADA. MARTA uses 140 special lift
-equipped vehicles for this service, and can either deliver passengers to their final destination (curb-to-curb service) or can deliver the passenger to the closest accessible bus stop or rail station (feeder service). Paratransit is limited to existing rail and bus routes and cannot extend more than a 0.75 miles (1.2 km) radius from any existing route. Paratransit service is only provided during the hours of the fixed route servicing the area. An application for acceptance into the paratransit service is required; reservations are required for each trip. In fiscal year 2006, MARTA provided 289,258 paratransit trips.
The average cost to MARTA for providing a one-way trip for an individual paratransit passenger is US$31.88. This is much greater than the US$3.80 fare the paratransit rider is required to pay. The Americans with Disabilities Act forbids MARTA from charging a paratransit fare more than twice the normal fixed route fare.
A 2001 federal civil lawsuit
, Martin v. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, was brought by several disabled riders who alleged MARTA was violating the ADA by failing to provide: bus schedule and route information in an accessible format, buses with working wheelchair lifts, stop announcements on rail and bus routes, and adequate staff to schedule and provide on-time paratransit service. The district court ruled in 2002 that MARTA had violated the ADA and granted the plaintiffs an injunction requiring MARTA to improve service to the disabled.
Effective October 2, 2011, the one-way flat-rate fare for MARTA will cost US $2.50. Breeze cards are $1. Passengers over 65
and Medicare
recipients are eligible to receive a discounted fare of $0.95. A one-way paratransit fare is $3.80 (effective January 2006, disabled riders who are paratransit-eligible can ride fixed bus and rail routes for free). Ten one-way trips can be purchased for $25, and twenty one-way trips can be purchased at a discount for $42.50. MARTA also offers unlimited travel through three different transit pass
options: 24-hour pass $9, 7 day pass $23.75, and a 30 day pass for $95. Additional discounted pass programs allow for university students and staff to purchase calendar monthly passes. Additional discounts are available to corporate partners who sell monthly MARTA passes to employees and also to groups and conventions visiting Atlanta. Some employers (at their own expense) also provide reduced cost or free MARTA passes to employees to encourage the use of public transportation.
Free shuttles also operate within the MARTA area, but are not part of MARTA. The Buckhead Uptown Connection (The BUC) goes around Buckhead
, Atlanta's uptown section and its third major business district behind downtown and midtown. This includes Lenox Square
mall and the many high-rises and skyscrapers built along Peachtree Road
. Georgia Tech operates the Tech trolley
between central campus, Technology Square, and the Midtown MARTA Station, as well as "Stinger" buses around its campus. Emory University
operates "The Cliff" shuttle buses in and around its campus. The Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association (CCTMA) operates a shuttle connecting Emory with downtown Decatur
and the Decatur MARTA station
.
MARTA finished implementing the "Breeze" smart card
electronic fare collection system in September 2006, replacing the previous token-based fare collection system. The new Breeze Card allows riders to load money on the card for use over time, and to add weekly/monthly passes that are not fixed to a calendar period. The Breeze Card ($1) is for every passenger riding MARTA. The new Breeze fare gates are designed to help prevent fare evasion; with the older fare collection system fare evasion was much easier and was estimated to cost MARTA $10 million per year. Other connecting transit systems such as GRTA Xpress
, CCT
have adopted the infrastructure
, and are currently building implementation plans.
MARTA stopped selling tokens after the Breeze conversion. Cards (without fare) were sent by mail for free to those who requested them when the system was first implemented.
MARTA operates 365 days a year. Rail service is provided from approximately 4:45am to 1am, Monday through Friday, and 6:00a. to 1:00a. on Saturday, Sunday & most Holidays. During certain events (New Year's Eve) trains run until 2:00a.m. (Trains also run all night during winter storms, though not in passenger service, to prevent ice from forming on non-underground lines.) On weekdays, trains run every 20 minutes from the beginning of service to 6am. Starting at 6:00a., trains run every 15 minute on all lines until 7:00p. After 7:00p., trains operate every 20 minutes until the end of service. Turnback service starts at approximately 7pm, every day. On weekends and public holidays, trains run every 20 minutes for each day. Single-Tracking occurs on most weekends therefore turnback service can vary. Bus routes have varying frequencies dependent upon passenger demand.
for free to the three other metro-Atlanta transit systems: Gwinnett County Transit
, Cobb Community Transit
and GRTA Xpress
. Some of these agreements require that neither system have significantly more transfers than the other. MARTA has stated that this is the case, that inbound (to MARTA from another system) and outbound (from MARTA to another system) transfers are approximately equal (for second quarter 2006, 8888 daily passengers transferred inbound and 8843 transferred outbound). Analysis of morning transfers (5 to 9 am) to MARTA shows that Cobb County had 718 inbound transfers but only 528 outbound, Gwinnett County had 239 inbound and 269 outbound, and GRTA Xpress had 1,175 inbound but 615 outbound. Some have suggested that more people from the other systems may benefit from free transfers than those living in the MARTA service area. However, it has been noted that workers traveling in the morning to Atlanta from another system will more than likely make the return trip home, resulting in an equal number of transfers.
in Fulton
and DeKalb
counties along with limited federal
money. For fiscal year 2007, MARTA had a farebox recovery ratio
of 31.8%. By law, funds from the 1% sales tax must be split evenly between MARTA's operational and Capital expenditure
budgets. This restriction does not apply to other sources of revenue, including passenger revenue. The split was written into MARTA legislation at MARTA's formation with the rationale that MARTA should continue expanding and investing in the system. However, MARTA has no active rail construction projects. Capital funds continue to decrease every year, creating a shortfall. The operations funds limit the amount of service MARTA provides. The sales tax law was amended by the state legislature in 2002 to allow a temporary three year 45% capital/55% operations split. This additional 5% for operations expired in 2005. A 2005 bill to renew the split was tabled by the legislature's MARTA Oversight Committee, forcing MARTA to pass a new budget with cuts in service. The temporary 45%/55% capital/operations split was renewed again in the 2006 state legislative session. The capital funds surplus has resulted in projects, such as a new US$100 million Breeze Card
fare collection system and US$1.1 million automatic toilets in the MARTA Five Points station, occurring at the same time that MARTA is struggling to pay for bus and rail operations. Due to low Sales Tax Revenue and no source of funding from the State of Georgia, MARTA was forced to eliminate 43 Bus Routes, eliminate shuttles, (Excluding the Six Flags Over Georgia and Braves Shuttle) and reduce Rail Service frequencies and hours. MARTA also closed the majority of its station restrooms. There are only 9 station restrooms open to the public, which are located at the end of each line including College Park, Candler Park and Lindbergh Stations. There are only two ridestores available now. The two Ridestores are located at the Airport and Five Points Rail Stations. Despite the cuts, MARTA predicts the system will still come up 69 million dollars short for FY 2011; in which they will pull the 69 million dollars from their Reserved Account.
The current 1% sales tax was set to be reduced to 0.5% in 2032. In early 2007 MARTA made a request to the City of Atlanta, DeKalb County, and Fulton County to seek a 15 year extension of the 1% sales tax from 2032 to 2047, with a 0.5% sales tax from 2047 to 2057. This is the fourth time in its history that MARTA sought the extension, the most recent in 1990. MARTA said the commitment to the tax is needed for the agency to secure long-term financing in the form of bonds to pay for any future expansions to the system. The resolution called for four new routes: bus rapid transit from H.E. Holmes station
to Fulton Industrial Boulevard, bus rapid transit from Garnett station
to Stonecrest Mall, transit for the BeltLine
, and a direct transit link from Lindbergh Center
to Emory University
(formerly called the "C-Loop"). To approve the tax extension, two of the three government agencies needed to agree to the extension. In March 2007 the City of Atlanta voted 12-1 to approve the extension. In April 2007 the DeKalb County Commission also approved the sales tax extension. Some Fulton county officials opposed the sales tax extension on the basis that the proposed service expansions did not include previously proposed expansion of the North Rail line to Roswell and Alpharetta in North Fulton County.
, making it the largest public transportation agency in the United States and the second-largest transit agency in Anglo-America
(after the Toronto Transit Commission
) not to receive state/provincial funding for operational expenses. The State of Georgia has contributed extremely limited funds for MARTA's capital projects. As of 2006, this amount was less than one percent of the total revenue sources for capital funds.
In early April 2009, the 150th Georgia General Assembly
created a budget crisis for MARTA by failing to pass a bill that would allow it to access its own capital reserve account
, in order to compensate for a severe drop in sales-tax revenue during the late-2000s recession. MARTA has stated that this could force the agency to discontinue operations one day out of the week, possibly a weekday. The agency's budget crisis forced MARTA to lay off 300 employees. Service cuts and other budget-stabilizing measures began in fiscal year 2010, with the first affected service mark-up in September 2009. Governor Sonny Perdue
refused to call a special session
as requested, and did not issue an executive order as he stated it would not be legal to do so.
that is governed by a board of directors
, consisting of representatives appointed from the city of Atlanta (3 members), and the remainder of the counties of Fulton
(3 members) and DeKalb
(4 members). Additionally, there is 1 member from the Georgia Department of Transportation
, and 1 member from Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
) who also serve on the MARTA Board of Directors.
Positions on the MARTA board are directly appointed by the organizations they represent. A board-member controversy occurred March 13, 2007, when Chairman of the MARTA board, Edmund Wall, was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
for public indecency
on allegations of having sex in a bathroom stall with a man he met over the Internet. Wall claims he is innocent of the misdemeanor charge. Although Wall initially said he would not resign his position, on March 16, 2007 he resigned his post as Chairman of MARTA's board of directors.
The highest position at MARTA is the general manager
and chief executive officer. In October 2007, Dr. Beverly A. Scott was named the new general manager. Prior to joining MARTA, Dr. Scott served as GM/CEO of the Sacramento Regional Transit District
. She has over 30 years of experience in the transportation industry. Prior to Dr. Scott, MARTA's General Manager was Richard McCrillis from 2006 to 2007. In October 2007, McCrillis retired after 22 years of service at MARTA.
The Georgia General Assembly
has a standing Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Oversight Committee (MARTOC). This committee is charged with financial oversight
of the MARTA organization. During the 2009 session, Representative Jill Chambers, the MARTOC chairperson, introduced a bill that would place MARTA under GRTA, and permanently remove the requirement that MARTA split its expenditures 50/50 between capital and operations. This would allow MARTA to avoid service cuts at times when sales tax
revenue
is low due to recession
, without having to ask the state legislature for temporary exemptions (typically a 55/45 split) as it has received before.
rate of 79%. On-time performance
for rail service was 91.64%. The mean distance between rail service interruptions was 9493 miles (15,277.5 km) and the mean distance between bus failures was 3301 miles (5,312.4 km).
MARTA has had two fatal accidents which resulted in a formal investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board
. On February 25, 2000 a train near Avondale station
struck two automatic train control technicians who were inspecting a relay box; one was fatally injured and the other technician suffered serious injuries. The workers had failed to apply for a safe clearance restriction for the track work. In addition, the rail system center controller, who was aware of the workers, failed to notify train drivers of the technicians' presence. A second accident occurred on April 10, 2000 when a train struck a bucket lift containing two contract workers at Lenox station
; the workers were fatally injured. Although the MARTA employee who was accompanying the workers notified the rail control center of the work over the track, the control center employee failed to block off the section of the track in the automated rail control system and also failed to notify the unscheduled southbound train of the workers' presence. In 2001 MARTA settled with the families of the two killed workers for US$10.5 million.
In addition to these accidents, MARTA trains have derailed four times in recent years. The most recent incident occurred at the Medical Center station
on December 4, 2006 when a train carrying passengers was moved over a rail switch. No injuries were reported. A previous derailment occurred in July 1996 during Atlanta's hosting of the Olympics
. A paired car on a train which had developed mechanical problems was uncoupled from other cars at Indian Creek station
(the last station on the east line). The train began rolling, crashing through the bumper at the end of the rail line and running off of the track. The train operator, the only person on board, received minor injuries. In June 1996 a minor derailment occurred at the junction between the North and Northeast lines; MARTA estimated 150 people were aboard. The derailment occurred when a rail supervisor told the train driver to reverse the train after realizing the train had gone the wrong way at a track split; a MARTA investigation of the incident showed the derailment caused $125,000 of damage to the train and track and caused injury to 16 passengers. And in August 1994 a minor derailment occurred at a switch between Candler Park
and Inman Park
. Approximately 20 passengers were on board and no one was injured.
On December 31, 2007 MARTA had three separate escalator
accidents that injured at least 11 people. The incidents occurred as large crowds were going to the Chick-fil-A Bowl
. Two escalators failed at Five Points
station, and one escalator failed at Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center
station. MARTA initially blamed the incidents on rowdy patrons jumping on the escalator. However, a subsequent formal investigation showed that the braking systems and a weak motor were to blame for the incidents.
In September 2008, a Fulton County jury awarded a woman $525,000 for injuries received in an accident at the Peachtree Center MARTA stop. MARTA has been criticized for its escalator maintenance policies after recent injuries due to escalators overloading, but has discussed plans to improve its policies and regulate passenger loads with posted station agents.
, but that redevelopment
has not been built with a MARTA station in mind, and Cobb County would instead most likely get a light rail
or commuter rail system (either of which have been studied) or a bus rapid transit
service (see Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT
). The Northwest line was cut back to a distance of two stations, and next the idea was dropped entirely.
The South Line's branch to Hapeville was considered for extension into Clayton County
as far away as Forest Park
, but this idea was also cut off when the voters of that county refused to approve tax funding for the line. Another idea for a rail spur line spur was for an above-ground line from near the International Airport for a spur line to the town of Hapeville, but no work has ever been executed.
Yet another proposed spur line would have branched off the East-West Line in DeKalb County, running northeast to the area of North Druid Hills
, Emory University
, and the town of Tucker
. Now under consideration is an idea for light rail line (rather than heavy rail) or busway called the "C-Loop".
The Northeast Line of the rail system, which has ended in Doraville for two decades, was considered for extension into Gwinnett County as far as northeast as Norcross, Georgia
, but this idea was cut off when the voters of that county declined to approve sales-tax funding for it.
The Proctor Creek branch was also projected to go one more station northwestward to the Perry Homes area, but no work has been done on that one either.
Expansion westward to Fulton Industrial Boulevard
through the use of either heavy rail extension or bus rapid transit has been proposed as an extension of the West Line since the system was originally planned.
Eastward expansion focuses not on rail but on bus rapid transit
from downtown Atlanta
along Memorial Drive (see below), as well as along the I-20
corridor to the Mall at Stonecrest
. The 1-cent sales tax which the region will vote on in Summer 2012 includes funding for BRT to Stonecrest.
The final three MARTA rail stations to be built, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Springs - all north of the Interstate 285
Perimeter, were opened in 2000. The tracks to those stations were run on the surface of the median strip of the Georgia 400 tollway which was constructed just east of the Buckhead area
during the early 1990s. Thus is one of just two places at which the MARTA rail system extends outside of Interstate 285. The other is at the Indian Creek Station
in eastern DeKalb County.
From 2000-2011, there were no active railway expansion projects in the MARTA system due to lack of additional sales-tax funding, the need to spend its limited capital budget on refurbishing its older rolling stock
, replacing the fare-collection system, repairing the tracks and their electrical systems, and other long-term maintenance, repair, and operations
requirements.
along Memorial Drive
from the former Avondale Mall
to the MARTA park and ride
lot in Stone Mountain
. (Bus Service started operating on September 27, 2010). This project has cleared the environmental study stage, when the Federal Transit Administration
issued the project a finding of no significant impact
in December 2006). This project has been completed and started operating on September 27, 2010. The implementation of revenue-collecting service had initially been planned for early 2009. A slight extension to the South Line is expected eventually, in order to serve a new and separate airport terminal
building (the "South Gate Complex"), which will be self-contained and separate from the existing terminal, and its concourses with gates.
Additionally, several traffic corridors are currently being studied by MARTA for possible system expansion. The BeltLine
is a current proposal for the use of light rail
and possibly bus or streetcar service on existing railroad right-of-ways around Atlanta's central business districts. The conversion of existing rail right-of-way to the proposed BeltLine also calls for the creation of three additional MARTA rapid transit stations where existing lines intersect the Belt Line at Simpson Road, Hulsey Yard, and Murphy Crossing.
station along Georgia 400 to either Holcomb Bridge Road
in Roswell
and North Point Mall
, Old Milton Parkway
, or as far as Windward Parkway in Alpharetta. By 2007, MARTA's website focused on an 11 miles (17.7 km) extension of heavy rail service from North Springs to Windward Parkway in Alpharetta, or a separate light rail line between those two points. Extension of the North line was estimated to cost US$100 million per mile.
The 1-cent sales tax, on which the region will vote on in Summer 2012, would fund MARTA heavy rail extension as far as Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell.
, from Lindbergh Center
, following the CSX rail corridor to Emory University
, with possible continuation along the northern edge of Decatur on to Avondale MARTA station
. Bus, light rail and heavy rail rapid-transit options are under consideration.
(MARTA's main railyard, opened 2005) has also been discussed, as the north-south MARTA lines, the northeast BeltLine light rail, proposed commuter rail lines to points northeast such as Athens
(the "Brain Train") and Gainesville
, would all pass through Armour Yard.
The proposed Atlanta Multimodal Passenger Terminal (MMPT) would be built next to Five Points station, connecting MARTA to surface passenger rail, including commuter rail, future intercity rail, Amtrak
, and possible high-speed rail
in the Southeast Corridor
.
Additional expansion plans for MARTA and other metro Atlanta transportation agencies are detailed in Mobility 2030
a timeline by the Atlanta Regional Commission
for improving transit through the year 2030.
is currently restricted to roads and bridges and cannot be used for public transportation, further complicating potential sources of state funding for MARTA. In addition, the other largest three suburban counties (Gwinnett
, Clayton
, and Cobb
counties) have refused to join or fund MARTA. Both Gwinnett and Clayton counties initially agreed to join MARTA but refused MARTA rail and bus service when voters in their respective counties voted against paying to help fund the system. These two counties along with Cobb County
have instead created their own independent bus systems: Cobb Community Transit
on July 10, 1989, Gwinnett County Transit
on November 5, 2001, and Clayton County C-TRAN
on October 1, 2001. On November 2, 2010 Clayton County Residents agreed on a Non-Binding Referendum to join MARTA. A separate regional bus transit service, Xpress, is operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
in partnership with 11 metro Atlanta counties including Fulton and DeKalb, which began service on June 6, 2004.
The MARTA Board members are criticized for not being regular users of MARTA and thus are not actually aware of the concerns of MARTA commuters.
Due to no funding from the state of Georgia and its limited funding from Fulton
and DeKalb
counties, MARTA has struggled for many years to provide adequate service to the metropolitan area. As a result, MARTA has gained a notorious reputation throughout the metro Atlanta area for being ineffective and inconvenient. Many people who own cars avoid using the system altogether while residents in suburban areas usually drive their car to a MARTA rail station (instead of using bus service) if their job is near an adjacent one. MARTA's financial structure (being tied to a 1% sales tax) has forced the agency to cut services during times of economic depression, further resulting in complaints about the inconvenience and inadequacy of MARTA services.
Although surrounding counties do not pay for MARTA, many of their residents use MARTA by driving directly to a MARTA station or by using a county or regional bus system which connects to MARTA. A license plate study from 1988 to 1997 showed that 44 percent of the cars parked in MARTA park-and-ride lots were from outside of Fulton and DeKalb counties. Current fare reciprocity agreements also allow non-paying counties to provide bus service for their residents which provide free connections to MARTA (see Fare reciprocity). According to a 2000 MARTA ridership study, 12 percent of MARTA riders live outside of MARTA's service area.
residents of the suburbs and rural
areas (like GRIP), while service cuts at MARTA have hurt mostly African Americans. Proponents contest that a portion of state funding for highways comes from the gasoline tax, a user fee
analogous to the fare MARTA riders pay. Supporters of MARTA have alleged that the lack of participation by other metro Atlanta counties is rooted in racism and classism
. In 1987, David Chesnut, then chairman of MARTA, stated, "The development of a regional transit system in the Atlanta area is being held hostage to race, and I think it's high time we admitted it and talked about it." A 1999 MARTA rider survey revealed that 78 percent of MARTA riders are African American. Furthermore, MARTA is sometimes sarcastically said to stand for "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta", a replacement backronym
, due to the relatively low number of white riders, particularly after peak commuting hours.
against the daughter of a Georgia State University
professor, complaints were made that MARTA was underreporting its annual crime statistics. A 1986 review of the previous year's records by MARTA's audit office and the state legislature's MARTA Oversight Committee (MARTOC) showed no deliberate underreporting of crime, but rather over-reporting of crime because MARTA included crimes not related to the rail line and did not adhere to the Uniform Crime Reporting
system (reporting multiple crimes by the same person instead of only the most serious crime).
According to Federal Transit Administration records, MARTA's crime statistics are in line with those of similar-sized systems, such as Bay Area Rapid Transit
in the San Francisco Bay area
. However, high-profile crimes on or near MARTA have created the impression with some that MARTA is unsafe and lacks a strong police presence, even though it has its own police department. From 2005 to 2009, two homicide
s and one rape
were reported on MARTA property. The most common crime reported was larceny
. The most common area for crime was MARTA's rail service, followed by MARTA's parking lots. For fiscal year 2009, MARTA had a crime rate of 3.09 per 1,000,000 riders, with 483 crimes reported during the entire year.
Suburban counties have opposed expanding MARTA on the basis that it would lead to increased crime, as well as the cost of expansion and the lack of perceived necessity to areas currently outside MARTA transit. It is alleged that because MARTA's service area includes some of Atlanta's most economically depressed and high-crime neighborhoods, expansion of MARTA would supposedly allow crime to spread to suburban areas. MARTA CEO, Dr. Scott, has acknowledged that assumption and cites a study that did not find transit systems to nucleate crime. Other counterarguments often cite the case of the Washington Metro
, which provides services in economically depressed areas with limited problems in suburban Washington D.C. stops.
As is typical of rail transit in the United States, MARTA's rail lines have two parallel tracks
. Any train failure or track work results in shared use of the other track by trains going opposite direction, a situation known as single-tracking
. There are no plans at this time to expand the number of tracks. MARTA is currently nearing the end of a complete replacement of tracks on all rail lines. Over the past few years, this replacement work has caused the agency to implement single-tracking on the weekends, which in turn has caused weekend patrons to experience less-frequent service.
In the summer of 2006, as a result of unusually high summertime temperatures, many MARTA rail cars became overheated, damaging on-board propulsion equipment. As a result, many trains broke down and had to be taken out of service for repair. This was further compounded by the fact that at any given time up to 50 older rail cars were out of service as part of MARTA's rail car rehabilitation project. To compensate for the reduced number of operating rail cars, MARTA shortened trains from six to four cars in length. This sometimes resulted in almost half of the trains being shortened, creating crowded conditions for passengers.
and a $58 visit to the dentist. In response to the 2006 audit, Ford sent MARTA a check for $1,000 as reimbursement for the charges. An additional credit card with charges involving two of his secretaries, Iris Anthony and Stephannie Smart, was also uncovered. Smart used the cards to pay approximately $6,000 in private expenses, and subsequently agreed to repay this amount to MARTA.
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
system in the Atlanta metropolitan area and the ninth-largest in the United States. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting of 48 miles (77.2 km) of rail track with 38 train stations. MARTA operates almost exclusively in Fulton
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
and DeKalb
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
counties, with bus service to two destinations in Cobb
Cobb County, Georgia
Cobb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, which is located in the center of the county. The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb, who in the early 19th century was a United States representative and senator from Georgia...
county (Six Flags Over Georgia
Six Flags Over Georgia
Six Flags Over Georgia is a theme park located west of Atlanta, in unincorporated Cobb County. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain, after the original opening in 1961 in Texas....
and the Cumberland
Cumberland (Atlanta)
Cumberland is a neighborhood and edge city in metro Atlanta, Georgia, United States. with approximately 122,000 workers and 103,000 residents. It is a major hub for business, convention, and retail in the region. Cumberland is situated ten miles northwest of downtown Atlanta at the junction of...
Transfer Center next to the Cumberland Mall
Cumberland Mall
Cumberland Mall, located in the Cumberland district of Metropolitan Atlanta near the suburbs of Smyrna and Vinings, opened on August 8, 1973 and was the largest mall in Georgia, United States, when it first opened.-Early years:...
) and a single rail station in Clayton
Clayton County, Georgia
Clayton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 236,517. The 2008 Census estimate placed the population at 273,718. The county seat is Jonesboro...
County at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
. MARTA also operates a separate paratransit
Paratransit
Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....
service for disabled customers. , the average total daily ridership for the system (bus and rail) was 482,500 passengers.
History
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
, Fulton
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
, Clayton
Clayton County, Georgia
Clayton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 236,517. The 2008 Census estimate placed the population at 273,718. The county seat is Jonesboro...
, Gwinnett
Gwinnett County, Georgia
, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...
, and Cobb
Cobb County, Georgia
Cobb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, which is located in the center of the county. The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb, who in the early 19th century was a United States representative and senator from Georgia...
counties. MARTA was formed by an act of the Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
in 1965. In the same year, four of the five metropolitan area counties (Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett) and the City of Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
passed a referendum authorizing participation in the system, but the referendum failed in Cobb County. Although a 1968 referendum to fund MARTA failed, in 1971, Fulton and DeKalb Counties successfully passed a 1% sales tax increase to pay for operations, while Clayton and Gwinnett counties overwhelmingly rejected the tax in referendum, fearing the introduction of crime and "undesirable elements". In 1971, the agency agreed to purchase the existing, bus-only Atlanta Transit Company
Atlanta Transit Company
The Atlanta Transit Company ran the public transit system in Atlanta, in the U.S. state of Georgia, from 1950 to 1972.Since the 1920s, the Georgia Railway and Power Company , had been losing money on transit. It commissioned a study from Beeler in 1926, but the suggestions were not enough to help...
and on February 17, 1972 the sale was completed for US$12.9 million giving the agency control over all public transit.
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 Sandy Springs
Sandy Springs (MARTA station)
Sandy Springs is an underground metro station on the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It serves the Perimeter Center area, including high-rise office parks near Georgia 400 and Abernathy Road, north of Perimeter Mall and within the recently-incorporated...
and North Springs
North Springs (MARTA station)
North Springs is an elevated metro station in the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system and the northern terminus for the Red Line...
which were not included in the original plan. The missing rail segments include a Tucker
Tucker, Georgia
Tucker is a census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 27,581 at the 2010 Census. Although central Tucker, also known as "Main Street Tucker", is laid out as a planned "railroad town," it has never been formally incorporated. Municipal services such as...
-North DeKalb line with service to Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
and North Druid Hills
North Druid Hills, Georgia
North Druid Hills, known alternatively as Briarcliff, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,947 at the 2010 census. The center of the area is the intersection of Briarcliff and North Druid Hills roads...
, a Northwest line with service to Brookwood
Brookwood Hills
Brookwood Hills is an historic neighborhood located in intown Atlanta, Georgia, USA, north of Midtown and south-southwest of Buckhead. Home to about 1000 people, it was founded in the early 1920s by Benjamin Franklin Burdett and his son, Arthur...
and Northside Drive, extension of the West line to Brownlee-Boulder Park near Fairburn Road, extension of the Proctor Creek line to Perry Homes, and a branch off of the south line to Hapeville
Hapeville, Georgia
Hapeville is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States, located directly adjacent to the city of Atlanta. The population was 6,373 at the 2010 census. It is named for Dr...
.
MARTA system
Airport (MARTA station)
Airport is an elevated Rail station and southern terminus on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It is served by the Gold Line at all times. It has an island platform between two tracks. This station is the southern terminus of the North-South...
and 7 miles (11.3 km) of rail that are located in Clayton County and one bus route to Cobb County's Cumberland Boulevard Transfer Center. For the fiscal year 2006, the average weekday ridership was 451,064. Over the entire year, bus and para-transit ridership was 69,194,285, whereas rail ridership was 69,209,027.
The MARTA system allows bicycles on its trains and buses at any time. At the Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
, bicycles can be locked up in all of the parking decks, so long as they are not obstructing either pedestrian or vehicular traffic.
In 2007, MARTA had 4,729 full and part-time employees, of whom 1,719 were bus drivers or train operators. rail and bus operators, the station agent
Station agent
In many countries, the station agent is the person in charge of a railway station Variants of station agents can also work at other transit terminals such as airports, ferry terminals, etc....
s, the rail maintenance workers, and many other employees of MARTA are represented in negotiations by the Amalgamated Transit Union
Amalgamated Transit Union
The Amalgamated Transit Union is a labor union in the United States and The Amalgamated Transit Union Canadian Council in Canada, representing workers in the transit system and other industries...
's Local 732.
Rail
The MARTA rapid rail system has 47.6 miles (76.6 km) of railroad tracks and 38 rail stations located on four service lines: the Red LineRed Line (MARTA)
The Red Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between North Springs and Airport stations, running through Sandy Springs, Atlanta, East Point and College Park....
(prior to October 2009, known as the North-South Line), Gold Line
Gold Line (MARTA)
The Gold Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between Doraville and Airport stations, running through Doraville, Chamblee, Atlanta, East Point and College Park....
(former Northeast-South Line), Blue Line
Blue Line (MARTA)
The Blue Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between Hamilton E. Holmes and Indian Creek stations, running through Atlanta, Decatur and portions of unincorporated DeKalb County....
(former East-West Line), and the Green Line
Green Line (MARTA)
The Green Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between Bankhead and Edgewood/Candler Park stations, running exclusively inside the Atlanta city limits....
(former Proctor Creek Line). The tracks for this system are a combination of elevated, ground-level, and underground tracks.
The deepest station in the MARTA system is the Peachtree Center Station
Peachtree Center (MARTA station)
Peachtree Center station is an underground Train station on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It is the deepest station in the MARTA rail system, at below Peachtree Street. It serves the Peachtree Center area of downtown Atlanta, and is the...
which is located in a hard-rock tunnel, 120 feet (36 meters) beneath downtown Atlanta, where the highest hills in Atlanta soar to 1100 feet (300 meters) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. No artificial lining of any kind was installed in the walls or the ceilings of this station, or the adjacent tunnels, but rather, the architects and civil engineers for this station decided to leave these with their rugged gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
rock walls.
MARTA switched to a color-based identification system in October 2009. Formerly, the lines were named based upon their terminal stations, namely: Airport
Airport (MARTA station)
Airport is an elevated Rail station and southern terminus on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It is served by the Gold Line at all times. It has an island platform between two tracks. This station is the southern terminus of the North-South...
, Doraville
Doraville (MARTA station)
Doraville is an elevated metro station and the northern terminus on the Gold Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system, located in Doraville, Georgia...
, North Springs
North Springs (MARTA station)
North Springs is an elevated metro station in the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system and the northern terminus for the Red Line...
, H. E. Holmes
H.E. Holmes (MARTA station)
Hamilton E. Holmes is an elevated metro station in the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system, and the western terminus for the Blue Line. This is one of the busiest stations in the MARTA system, handling an average of 22,000 boardings per weekday...
, Bankhead
Bankhead (MARTA station)
Bankhead is an elevated metro station in the MARTA rail system and the western terminus of the Green Line , which was originally planned to serve points north beyond Bankhead such as Perry Homes. It is the only station served exclusively by the Green Line. This stations primarily serves the...
, King Memorial
King Memorial (MARTA station)
King Memorial is an elevated station on the Blue and part-time on the Green lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system located in the Old Fourth Ward, near Oakland Cemetery. The station name is a portmanteau of Martin Luther King and nearby Memorial Drive. It provides...
, Candler Park
Edgewood/Candler Park (MARTA station)
Edgewood / Candler Park is an at grade train station on the Blue and is a part-time terminus station on the Green lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It has Single island platform with two tracks. This station was opened on June 30, 1979...
, Indian Creek
Indian Creek (MARTA station)
Indian Creek is an at-grade terminus station on the Blue Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system that serves a portion of DeKalb County, Georgia just outside of Interstate 285. It has an island platform with 1 track on each side of the platform...
; or by their compass direction. During the transition between the two naming systems, all stations on the Red and Gold lines are using their original orange signs, and all stations on the Blue and Green lines are using their original blue signs.
All of the rail lines have an ultimate nexus at the Five Points station
Five Points (MARTA station)
Five Points is a tri-level underground multi-platform metro station of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It is the transfer point between the Red and Gold Lines and the Blue and Green Lines and serves as MARTA's transportation hub. It provides access to the Five Points...
, located in downtown Atlanta. MARTA trains are operated using the Automatic Train Control
Automatic Train Control
Automatic Train Control is a train protection system for railways, ensuring the safe and smooth operation of trains on ATC-enabled lines. Its main advantages include making possible the use of cab signalling instead of track-side signals and the use of smooth deceleration patterns in lieu of the...
system, with one human train operator per train present to make announcements, operate the doors, and to operate the trains manually in case of a control system malfunction or an emergency. Many of the suburban stations have free daily and paid long-term parking in park and ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
lots. These stations also have designated kiss and ride passenger drop-off areas close to the station's entrances.
Rolling stock
MARTA rail cars are air conditionedAir conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
steel-wheel trains which can operate at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (112.7 km/h). The trains are powered by an electrified third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
and can be operated in any combination from two to eight rail car
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
s.
The MARTA rail car fleet is currently composed of three different classes of married pair
Married pair
A twinset or twin unit is a set of two railroad cars or locomotives which are permanently coupled and treated as if they were a single unit. A twinset of cars or coaches can also be called a twin car.-USA:...
rail cars:
- CQ310 class (118 active cars, car numbers 101-200, 501-520, built by Société Franco-BelgeSociété Franco-BelgeThe Société Franco-Belge de Matériel de Chemins de Fer was a French engineering firm that specialised mainly in the construction of railway vehicles and their components and accessories. Its was based at Raismes in the Département Nord in France...
, 1979–1982) - CQ311 class (120 active cars, car numbers 201-320, built by HitachiHitachi, Ltd.is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
, 1984–1987) - CQ312 class (100 active cars, car numbers 601-702, built by BredaAnsaldobreda, S.P.A.AnsaldoBreda S.p.A. is a rail transport engineering company based in Italy. The company designs and manufactures railway and mass transit vehicles.-Company details:...
, 2001–2005)
MARTA contracted with Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
to rebuild 98 of the CQ310 cars and all CQ311 cars (218 rail cars in total). The rehabilitated cars feature upgraded passenger amenities and upgraded propulsion and train control hardware. The first rehabilitated cars began service on March 12, 2006. The rehabilitation was completed on February 23, 2009.
Bus
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
and Alpharetta in North Fulton, along with South DeKalb. As of 2010, MARTA has 554 diesel and compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...
buses that cover over 91 bus routes which operated 25.9 million annual vehicle miles (41.7 million kilometers). Effective November 20, 2006, MARTA now has one bus route providing limited service in Cobb County (Route 12 has been extended to Cobb County's Cumberland Boulevard Transfer Center). All of the MARTA bus lines feed into or intersect MARTA rail lines as well. MARTA shuttle service is available to Six Flags Over Georgia
Six Flags Over Georgia
Six Flags Over Georgia is a theme park located west of Atlanta, in unincorporated Cobb County. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain, after the original opening in 1961 in Texas....
during the park's summer season.
In addition to the free parking adjacent to many rail stations, MARTA also operates five Park and ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
lots serviced only by bus routes (Windward Parkway, Mansell Road, Stone Mountain, Barge Road, and South Fulton).
Paratransit service
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities ActAmericans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....
(ADA), MARTA provides paratransit
Paratransit
Paratransit is an alternative mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Typically mini-buses are used to provide paratransit service, but also share taxis and jitneys are important providers....
for those persons defined as disabled by the ADA. MARTA uses 140 special lift
Wheelchair lift
A wheelchair lift, also known as a platform lift, is a powered device designed to raise a wheelchair and its occupant in order to overcome a step or similar vertical barrier....
-equipped vehicles for this service, and can either deliver passengers to their final destination (curb-to-curb service) or can deliver the passenger to the closest accessible bus stop or rail station (feeder service). Paratransit is limited to existing rail and bus routes and cannot extend more than a 0.75 miles (1.2 km) radius from any existing route. Paratransit service is only provided during the hours of the fixed route servicing the area. An application for acceptance into the paratransit service is required; reservations are required for each trip. In fiscal year 2006, MARTA provided 289,258 paratransit trips.
The average cost to MARTA for providing a one-way trip for an individual paratransit passenger is US$31.88. This is much greater than the US$3.80 fare the paratransit rider is required to pay. The Americans with Disabilities Act forbids MARTA from charging a paratransit fare more than twice the normal fixed route fare.
A 2001 federal civil lawsuit
Civil law (common law)
Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...
, Martin v. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, was brought by several disabled riders who alleged MARTA was violating the ADA by failing to provide: bus schedule and route information in an accessible format, buses with working wheelchair lifts, stop announcements on rail and bus routes, and adequate staff to schedule and provide on-time paratransit service. The district court ruled in 2002 that MARTA had violated the ADA and granted the plaintiffs an injunction requiring MARTA to improve service to the disabled.
Fare structure and operation
Senior citizen
Senior citizen is a common polite designation for an elderly person in both UK and US English, and it implies or means that the person is retired. This in turn implies or in fact means that the person is over the retirement age, which varies according to country. Synonyms include pensioner in UK...
and Medicare
Medicare (United States)
Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
recipients are eligible to receive a discounted fare of $0.95. A one-way paratransit fare is $3.80 (effective January 2006, disabled riders who are paratransit-eligible can ride fixed bus and rail routes for free). Ten one-way trips can be purchased for $25, and twenty one-way trips can be purchased at a discount for $42.50. MARTA also offers unlimited travel through three different transit pass
Transit pass
A transit pass is a ticket that allows a passenger of the service take either a certain number of pre-purchased trips, or unlimited trips within a fixed period of time...
options: 24-hour pass $9, 7 day pass $23.75, and a 30 day pass for $95. Additional discounted pass programs allow for university students and staff to purchase calendar monthly passes. Additional discounts are available to corporate partners who sell monthly MARTA passes to employees and also to groups and conventions visiting Atlanta. Some employers (at their own expense) also provide reduced cost or free MARTA passes to employees to encourage the use of public transportation.
Free shuttles also operate within the MARTA area, but are not part of MARTA. The Buckhead Uptown Connection (The BUC) goes around Buckhead
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...
, Atlanta's uptown section and its third major business district behind downtown and midtown. This includes Lenox Square
Lenox Square
Lenox Square is an upscale enclosed super regional shopping mall located in the Buckhead District of Atlanta, Georgia. Lenox Square comprises more than of retail space, with 250 stores on four levels, including a large food court. The mall is home to three anchor stores: Macy's, Bloomingdale's,...
mall and the many high-rises and skyscrapers built along Peachtree Road
Peachtree Street
Peachtree Street is the main street of Atlanta. The city grew up around the street, and many of its historical and municipal buildings are or were located along it...
. Georgia Tech operates the Tech trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
between central campus, Technology Square, and the Midtown MARTA Station, as well as "Stinger" buses around its campus. Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
operates "The Cliff" shuttle buses in and around its campus. The Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association (CCTMA) operates a shuttle connecting Emory with downtown Decatur
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
and the Decatur MARTA station
Decatur (MARTA station)
Decatur is an underground Train station on the Blue Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system in the heart of Decatur, Georgia. It Serves Downtown Decatur, South Decatur, and South Dekalb. This station was opened on June 30, 1979. In 2005, a major renovation of the...
.
Breeze Card
MARTA finished implementing the "Breeze" smart card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
electronic fare collection system in September 2006, replacing the previous token-based fare collection system. The new Breeze Card allows riders to load money on the card for use over time, and to add weekly/monthly passes that are not fixed to a calendar period. The Breeze Card ($1) is for every passenger riding MARTA. The new Breeze fare gates are designed to help prevent fare evasion; with the older fare collection system fare evasion was much easier and was estimated to cost MARTA $10 million per year. Other connecting transit systems such as GRTA Xpress
Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA is a government agency in the U.S. state of Georgia...
, CCT
Cobb Community Transit
Cobb Community Transit or CCT is the bus public transit system in Cobb County, Georgia, one of metro Atlanta's three most populous suburban counties...
have adopted the infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, and are currently building implementation plans.
MARTA stopped selling tokens after the Breeze conversion. Cards (without fare) were sent by mail for free to those who requested them when the system was first implemented.
Hours of operation
Fare reciprocity
Through formal fare reciprocity agreements, MARTA riders are able to transferTransfer (public transit)
A transfer allows the rider of a public transportation vehicle who pays for a single-trip fare to continue the trip on another bus or train. Depending on the network, there may or may not be an additional fee for the transfer...
for free to the three other metro-Atlanta transit systems: Gwinnett County Transit
Gwinnett County Transit
Gwinnett County Transit or GCT is the bus public transit system in Gwinnett County, Georgia, USA, one of metro Atlanta's three most populous suburban counties...
, Cobb Community Transit
Cobb Community Transit
Cobb Community Transit or CCT is the bus public transit system in Cobb County, Georgia, one of metro Atlanta's three most populous suburban counties...
and GRTA Xpress
Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA is a government agency in the U.S. state of Georgia...
. Some of these agreements require that neither system have significantly more transfers than the other. MARTA has stated that this is the case, that inbound (to MARTA from another system) and outbound (from MARTA to another system) transfers are approximately equal (for second quarter 2006, 8888 daily passengers transferred inbound and 8843 transferred outbound). Analysis of morning transfers (5 to 9 am) to MARTA shows that Cobb County had 718 inbound transfers but only 528 outbound, Gwinnett County had 239 inbound and 269 outbound, and GRTA Xpress had 1,175 inbound but 615 outbound. Some have suggested that more people from the other systems may benefit from free transfers than those living in the MARTA service area. However, it has been noted that workers traveling in the morning to Atlanta from another system will more than likely make the return trip home, resulting in an equal number of transfers.
Sales tax
In addition to fare collections, the MARTA budget is funded by a 1% sales taxSales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
in Fulton
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
and DeKalb
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
counties along with limited federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
money. For fiscal year 2007, MARTA had a farebox recovery ratio
Farebox recovery ratio
The farebox recovery ratio of a passenger transportation system is the proportion of the amount of revenue generated through fares by its paying customers as a fraction of the cost of its total operating expenses....
of 31.8%. By law, funds from the 1% sales tax must be split evenly between MARTA's operational and Capital expenditure
Capital expenditure
Capital expenditures are expenditures creating future benefits. A capital expenditure is incurred when a business spends money either to buy fixed assets or to add to the value of an existing fixed asset with a useful life extending beyond the taxable year...
budgets. This restriction does not apply to other sources of revenue, including passenger revenue. The split was written into MARTA legislation at MARTA's formation with the rationale that MARTA should continue expanding and investing in the system. However, MARTA has no active rail construction projects. Capital funds continue to decrease every year, creating a shortfall. The operations funds limit the amount of service MARTA provides. The sales tax law was amended by the state legislature in 2002 to allow a temporary three year 45% capital/55% operations split. This additional 5% for operations expired in 2005. A 2005 bill to renew the split was tabled by the legislature's MARTA Oversight Committee, forcing MARTA to pass a new budget with cuts in service. The temporary 45%/55% capital/operations split was renewed again in the 2006 state legislative session. The capital funds surplus has resulted in projects, such as a new US$100 million Breeze Card
Breeze Card
The Breeze Card is a stored value smart card that passengers use as part of an automated fare collection system which the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority introduced to the general public in early October 2006. The card automatically debits the cost of the passenger’s ride when placed...
fare collection system and US$1.1 million automatic toilets in the MARTA Five Points station, occurring at the same time that MARTA is struggling to pay for bus and rail operations. Due to low Sales Tax Revenue and no source of funding from the State of Georgia, MARTA was forced to eliminate 43 Bus Routes, eliminate shuttles, (Excluding the Six Flags Over Georgia and Braves Shuttle) and reduce Rail Service frequencies and hours. MARTA also closed the majority of its station restrooms. There are only 9 station restrooms open to the public, which are located at the end of each line including College Park, Candler Park and Lindbergh Stations. There are only two ridestores available now. The two Ridestores are located at the Airport and Five Points Rail Stations. Despite the cuts, MARTA predicts the system will still come up 69 million dollars short for FY 2011; in which they will pull the 69 million dollars from their Reserved Account.
The current 1% sales tax was set to be reduced to 0.5% in 2032. In early 2007 MARTA made a request to the City of Atlanta, DeKalb County, and Fulton County to seek a 15 year extension of the 1% sales tax from 2032 to 2047, with a 0.5% sales tax from 2047 to 2057. This is the fourth time in its history that MARTA sought the extension, the most recent in 1990. MARTA said the commitment to the tax is needed for the agency to secure long-term financing in the form of bonds to pay for any future expansions to the system. The resolution called for four new routes: bus rapid transit from H.E. Holmes station
H.E. Holmes (MARTA station)
Hamilton E. Holmes is an elevated metro station in the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system, and the western terminus for the Blue Line. This is one of the busiest stations in the MARTA system, handling an average of 22,000 boardings per weekday...
to Fulton Industrial Boulevard, bus rapid transit from Garnett station
Garnett (MARTA station)
Garnett is an elevated Rail station on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system, located in South Downtown. It has an island platform between two tracks. This station has three levels to it. It was opened on December 4, 1981...
to Stonecrest Mall, transit for the BeltLine
Beltline
The Beltline is a region of central Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The area is located immediately to the south of Calgary's downtown , and is sometimes considered part of downtown...
, and a direct transit link from Lindbergh Center
Lindbergh Center (MARTA station)
Lindbergh Center station is an at-grade Train station on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system in the Lindbergh/Morosgo neighborhood in southern Buckhead. This is a partime terminus of the Red Line and the last transfer point for the Red and Gold ...
to Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
(formerly called the "C-Loop"). To approve the tax extension, two of the three government agencies needed to agree to the extension. In March 2007 the City of Atlanta voted 12-1 to approve the extension. In April 2007 the DeKalb County Commission also approved the sales tax extension. Some Fulton county officials opposed the sales tax extension on the basis that the proposed service expansions did not include previously proposed expansion of the North Rail line to Roswell and Alpharetta in North Fulton County.
State funding controversy
MARTA has never received any operational funding from the State of GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, making it the largest public transportation agency in the United States and the second-largest transit agency in Anglo-America
Anglo-America
Anglo-America is a region in the Americas in which English is a main language, or one which has significant British historical, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural links...
(after the Toronto Transit Commission
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
) not to receive state/provincial funding for operational expenses. The State of Georgia has contributed extremely limited funds for MARTA's capital projects. As of 2006, this amount was less than one percent of the total revenue sources for capital funds.
In early April 2009, the 150th Georgia General Assembly
150th Georgia General Assembly
- Overview :The 150th General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia convened its first session on January 12, 2009, at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia. The 150th Georgia General Assembly succeeded the 149th and will serve as the precedent for the 151st General Assembly in 2011.The...
created a budget crisis for MARTA by failing to pass a bill that would allow it to access its own capital reserve account
Deposit account
A deposit account is a current account, savings account, or other type of bank account, at a banking institution that allows money to be deposited and withdrawn by the account holder. These transactions are recorded on the bank's books, and the resulting balance is recorded as a liability for the...
, in order to compensate for a severe drop in sales-tax revenue during the late-2000s recession. MARTA has stated that this could force the agency to discontinue operations one day out of the week, possibly a weekday. The agency's budget crisis forced MARTA to lay off 300 employees. Service cuts and other budget-stabilizing measures began in fiscal year 2010, with the first affected service mark-up in September 2009. Governor Sonny Perdue
Sonny Perdue
George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III, was the 81st Governor of Georgia. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Benjamin F. Conley served during Reconstruction in the 1870s....
refused to call a special session
Special session
In a legislature, a special session is a period when the body convenes outside of the normal legislative session. This most frequently occurs in order to complete unfinished tasks for the year , such as outlining the government's budget for the next fiscal year, biennium, or other period...
as requested, and did not issue an executive order as he stated it would not be legal to do so.
Governance
MARTA is a multi-county agencyGovernment agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
that is governed by a board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, consisting of representatives appointed from the city of Atlanta (3 members), and the remainder of the counties of Fulton
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
(3 members) and DeKalb
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
(4 members). Additionally, there is 1 member from the Georgia Department of Transportation
Georgia Department of Transportation
The Georgia Department of Transportation is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in developing public transportation and general aviation programs...
, and 1 member from Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA is a government agency in the U.S. state of Georgia...
) who also serve on the MARTA Board of Directors.
Positions on the MARTA board are directly appointed by the organizations they represent. A board-member controversy occurred March 13, 2007, when Chairman of the MARTA board, Edmund Wall, was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
for public indecency
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
on allegations of having sex in a bathroom stall with a man he met over the Internet. Wall claims he is innocent of the misdemeanor charge. Although Wall initially said he would not resign his position, on March 16, 2007 he resigned his post as Chairman of MARTA's board of directors.
The highest position at MARTA is the general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
and chief executive officer. In October 2007, Dr. Beverly A. Scott was named the new general manager. Prior to joining MARTA, Dr. Scott served as GM/CEO of the Sacramento Regional Transit District
Sacramento Regional Transit District
The Sacramento Regional Transit District, commonly referred to as RT, is the agency responsible for public transportation in the Sacramento, California area. It was established on April 1, 1973, as a result of the acquisition of the Sacramento Transit Authority...
. She has over 30 years of experience in the transportation industry. Prior to Dr. Scott, MARTA's General Manager was Richard McCrillis from 2006 to 2007. In October 2007, McCrillis retired after 22 years of service at MARTA.
The Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
has a standing Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Oversight Committee (MARTOC). This committee is charged with financial oversight
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
of the MARTA organization. During the 2009 session, Representative Jill Chambers, the MARTOC chairperson, introduced a bill that would place MARTA under GRTA, and permanently remove the requirement that MARTA split its expenditures 50/50 between capital and operations. This would allow MARTA to avoid service cuts at times when sales tax
Sales tax
A sales tax is a tax, usually paid by the consumer at the point of purchase, itemized separately from the base price, for certain goods and services. The tax amount is usually calculated by applying a percentage rate to the taxable price of a sale....
revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
is low due to recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
, without having to ask the state legislature for temporary exemptions (typically a 55/45 split) as it has received before.
Performance and safety
During the 2005 fiscal year, MARTA had a customer satisfactionCustomer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction, a term frequently used in marketing, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation...
rate of 79%. On-time performance
On-time performance
In transportation , schedule adherence or on-time performance refers to the level of success of the service remaining on the published schedule....
for rail service was 91.64%. The mean distance between rail service interruptions was 9493 miles (15,277.5 km) and the mean distance between bus failures was 3301 miles (5,312.4 km).
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
. On February 25, 2000 a train near Avondale station
Avondale (MARTA station)
Avondale is an at-grade train station on the Blue Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system . It serves Avondale Estates, Georgia , Clarkston, and the communities of Druid Hills, Scottsdale, Tucker, Northlake and North Decatur...
struck two automatic train control technicians who were inspecting a relay box; one was fatally injured and the other technician suffered serious injuries. The workers had failed to apply for a safe clearance restriction for the track work. In addition, the rail system center controller, who was aware of the workers, failed to notify train drivers of the technicians' presence. A second accident occurred on April 10, 2000 when a train struck a bucket lift containing two contract workers at Lenox station
Lenox (MARTA station)
Lenox is an underground metro station on the Gold Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. It provides access to Lenox Mall, Phipps Plaza,and Buckhead Business District...
; the workers were fatally injured. Although the MARTA employee who was accompanying the workers notified the rail control center of the work over the track, the control center employee failed to block off the section of the track in the automated rail control system and also failed to notify the unscheduled southbound train of the workers' presence. In 2001 MARTA settled with the families of the two killed workers for US$10.5 million.
In addition to these accidents, MARTA trains have derailed four times in recent years. The most recent incident occurred at the Medical Center station
Medical Center (MARTA station)
Medical Center is an at-grade metro station on the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It serves the Pill Hill neighborhood of Perimeter Center, the location of Northside Hospital , St...
on December 4, 2006 when a train carrying passengers was moved over a rail switch. No injuries were reported. A previous derailment occurred in July 1996 during Atlanta's hosting of the Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
. A paired car on a train which had developed mechanical problems was uncoupled from other cars at Indian Creek station
Indian Creek (MARTA station)
Indian Creek is an at-grade terminus station on the Blue Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system that serves a portion of DeKalb County, Georgia just outside of Interstate 285. It has an island platform with 1 track on each side of the platform...
(the last station on the east line). The train began rolling, crashing through the bumper at the end of the rail line and running off of the track. The train operator, the only person on board, received minor injuries. In June 1996 a minor derailment occurred at the junction between the North and Northeast lines; MARTA estimated 150 people were aboard. The derailment occurred when a rail supervisor told the train driver to reverse the train after realizing the train had gone the wrong way at a track split; a MARTA investigation of the incident showed the derailment caused $125,000 of damage to the train and track and caused injury to 16 passengers. And in August 1994 a minor derailment occurred at a switch between Candler Park
Edgewood/Candler Park (MARTA station)
Edgewood / Candler Park is an at grade train station on the Blue and is a part-time terminus station on the Green lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It has Single island platform with two tracks. This station was opened on June 30, 1979...
and Inman Park
Inman Park/Reynoldstown (MARTA station)
Inman Park / Reynoldstown is an at-grade station on the Blue and part-time on the Green lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system it has two side platforms and 2 tracks. This station opened June 30, 1979. It is located adjacent to Freedom Park, Inman Park and Reynoldstown...
. Approximately 20 passengers were on board and no one was injured.
On December 31, 2007 MARTA had three separate escalator
Escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...
accidents that injured at least 11 people. The incidents occurred as large crowds were going to the Chick-fil-A Bowl
Chick-fil-A Bowl
The Chick-fil-A Bowl, formerly called the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and before that simply called the Peach Bowl, is an annual college football bowl game played in Atlanta, Georgia since December 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Grant Field on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta....
. Two escalators failed at Five Points
Five Points (MARTA station)
Five Points is a tri-level underground multi-platform metro station of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. It is the transfer point between the Red and Gold Lines and the Blue and Green Lines and serves as MARTA's transportation hub. It provides access to the Five Points...
station, and one escalator failed at Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center (MARTA station)
Dome / GWCC / Philips Arena / CNN Center is an at-grade rail station on the Blue and Green lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system. As the station name suggests, the station provides service to the Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Center, Philips Arena, and...
station. MARTA initially blamed the incidents on rowdy patrons jumping on the escalator. However, a subsequent formal investigation showed that the braking systems and a weak motor were to blame for the incidents.
In September 2008, a Fulton County jury awarded a woman $525,000 for injuries received in an accident at the Peachtree Center MARTA stop. MARTA has been criticized for its escalator maintenance policies after recent injuries due to escalators overloading, but has discussed plans to improve its policies and regulate passenger loads with posted station agents.
Previous expansion plans
MARTA was built with at least two stubs for rail lines which were never built. The Northwest Line towards Cobb County has a stub tunnel east of Atlantic StationAtlantic Station
Atlantic Station is a large brownfield redevelopment project at the northwestern edge of Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. Atlantic Station is being master developed by AIG Global Real Estate and local development partner Jacoby Development, Inc...
, but that redevelopment
Redevelopment
Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses.-Description:Variations on redevelopment include:* Urban infill on vacant parcels that have no existing activity but were previously developed, especially on Brownfield land, such as the redevelopment of an industrial site...
has not been built with a MARTA station in mind, and Cobb County would instead most likely get a light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
or commuter rail system (either of which have been studied) or a bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
service (see Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT
Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT
The Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT is a Georgia Department of Transportation plan to put HOV lanes and bus rapid transit along Interstate 75 and Interstate 575 in the northwestern suburbs of metro Atlanta...
). The Northwest line was cut back to a distance of two stations, and next the idea was dropped entirely.
The South Line's branch to Hapeville was considered for extension into Clayton County
Clayton County, Georgia
Clayton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 236,517. The 2008 Census estimate placed the population at 273,718. The county seat is Jonesboro...
as far away as Forest Park
Forest Park, Georgia
Forest Park is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. It is located approximately nine miles south of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, but this idea was also cut off when the voters of that county refused to approve tax funding for the line. Another idea for a rail spur line spur was for an above-ground line from near the International Airport for a spur line to the town of Hapeville, but no work has ever been executed.
Yet another proposed spur line would have branched off the East-West Line in DeKalb County, running northeast to the area of North Druid Hills
North Druid Hills, Georgia
North Druid Hills, known alternatively as Briarcliff, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,947 at the 2010 census. The center of the area is the intersection of Briarcliff and North Druid Hills roads...
, Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, and the town of Tucker
Tucker, Georgia
Tucker is a census-designated place in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 27,581 at the 2010 Census. Although central Tucker, also known as "Main Street Tucker", is laid out as a planned "railroad town," it has never been formally incorporated. Municipal services such as...
. Now under consideration is an idea for light rail line (rather than heavy rail) or busway called the "C-Loop".
The Northeast Line of the rail system, which has ended in Doraville for two decades, was considered for extension into Gwinnett County as far as northeast as Norcross, Georgia
Norcross, Georgia
As of 2010 Norcross had a population of 9,116. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 40.8% white , 19.8% black or African American , 0.7% Native American, 2.1% Asian Indian, 10.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 21.5% from some other race and 4.3% reporting two or more races...
, but this idea was cut off when the voters of that county declined to approve sales-tax funding for it.
The Proctor Creek branch was also projected to go one more station northwestward to the Perry Homes area, but no work has been done on that one either.
Expansion westward to Fulton Industrial Boulevard
Georgia State Route 70
State Route 70 begins just east of Newnan, Georgia at Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard and ends at Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway in northwest Atlanta ....
through the use of either heavy rail extension or bus rapid transit has been proposed as an extension of the West Line since the system was originally planned.
Eastward expansion focuses not on rail but on bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
from downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...
along Memorial Drive (see below), as well as along the I-20
Interstate 20 in Georgia
In Georgia, Interstate 20 runs from the Alabama border to the Savannah River, which the Georgia-South Carolina border straddles. It passes through the heavily congested Atlanta metropolitan area and exits the state at Augusta...
corridor to the Mall at Stonecrest
Mall at Stonecrest
The Mall at Stonecrest is an indoor shopping mall in Lithonia, Georgia, along Interstate 20 in eastern metro Atlanta...
. The 1-cent sales tax which the region will vote on in Summer 2012 includes funding for BRT to Stonecrest.
The final three MARTA rail stations to be built, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Springs - all north of the Interstate 285
Interstate 285
Interstate 285 is an Interstate Highway loop encircling Atlanta, Georgia, for . I-285 is also known as unsigned State Route 407 and is colloquially referred to as the Perimeter. Suburban sprawl has made it one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the United States, and portions of the highway...
Perimeter, were opened in 2000. The tracks to those stations were run on the surface of the median strip of the Georgia 400 tollway which was constructed just east of the Buckhead area
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...
during the early 1990s. Thus is one of just two places at which the MARTA rail system extends outside of Interstate 285. The other is at the Indian Creek Station
Indian Creek (MARTA station)
Indian Creek is an at-grade terminus station on the Blue Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system that serves a portion of DeKalb County, Georgia just outside of Interstate 285. It has an island platform with 1 track on each side of the platform...
in eastern DeKalb County.
From 2000-2011, there were no active railway expansion projects in the MARTA system due to lack of additional sales-tax funding, the need to spend its limited capital budget on refurbishing its older rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
, replacing the fare-collection system, repairing the tracks and their electrical systems, and other long-term maintenance, repair, and operations
Maintenance, repair, and operations
Maintenance, repair, and operations or maintenance, repair, and overhaul involves fixing any sort of mechanical or electrical device should it become out of order or broken...
requirements.
Memorial Drive BRT
Currently the only active expansion in the entire MARTA system is the development of bus rapid transitBus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
along Memorial Drive
Memorial Drive (Atlanta)
Memorial Drive is a long road that runs from Stone Mountain to downtown Atlanta, Georgia. In 2000, a part of Memorial Drive was named "Cynthia McKinney Parkway," but the naming has come under scrutiny since her primary defeat in 2006....
from the former Avondale Mall
Avondale Mall
Avondale Mall, originally known as Columbia Mall, opened in 1964 as an enclosed mall in the state of Georgia USA. The mall's original name came from its location at the intersection of Columbia & Memorial Drives near Avondale Estates. It was demolished in 2007.-Anchors:The mall's original anchors...
to the MARTA park and ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
lot in Stone Mountain
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Stone Mountain is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,802 at the 2010 census. It is an outer suburb of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.-Geography:...
. (Bus Service started operating on September 27, 2010). This project has cleared the environmental study stage, when the Federal Transit Administration
Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
issued the project a finding of no significant impact
Environmental impact statement
An environmental impact statement , under United States environmental law, is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An EIS is a tool for decision making...
in December 2006). This project has been completed and started operating on September 27, 2010. The implementation of revenue-collecting service had initially been planned for early 2009. A slight extension to the South Line is expected eventually, in order to serve a new and separate airport terminal
Airport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft....
building (the "South Gate Complex"), which will be self-contained and separate from the existing terminal, and its concourses with gates.
Transportation sales tax vote 2012
In Summer 2012, there will be a referendum on a 1-cent sales tax (SPLOST) to fund traffic and road improvements (final list). If approved, the tax will fund:- Two streetcar routes (maps, p.56-57):
- Midtown to Northeast: from North Ave. MARTA station east along North Ave. to the BeltLineBeltlineThe Beltline is a region of central Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The area is located immediately to the south of Calgary's downtown , and is sometimes considered part of downtown...
, then north along BeltLine to 10th and Monroe (southeast corner of Piedmont ParkPiedmont ParkPiedmont Park is a urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's farm and residence...
) and south to Glenwood Park and connection to the Downtown streetcar at its eastern terminus - Downtown/Midtown to Southwest:
- one branch from Ponce City Market along North Avenue towards downtown
- one branch from the western terminus of the Downtown streetcar at Centennial Olympic ParkCentennial Olympic ParkCentennial Olympic Park is a 21 acre public park located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA that is owned and operated by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. The park was built by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as part of the infrastructure improvements for the Centennial...
- the two branches meet at Luckie Street. Then along North Avenue, Northside Drive, out Donald L. Hollowell Parkway, then south along the BeltLine to the intersection of Ralph David Abernathy and Cascade Ave.
- Midtown to Northeast: from North Ave. MARTA station east along North Ave. to the BeltLine
- Clifton CorridorClifton CorridorThe Clifton Corridor is a proposed public transportation corridor in and near Atlanta, Georgia. It stretches from Lindbergh Center eastwards, following the existing CSX rail corridor to Emory University, with possible continuation along the northern edge of Decatur via Suburban Plaza on N. Decatur...
rapid transit from Lindbergh Center to Emory UniversityEmory UniversityEmory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
and possibly on to AvondaleAvondale (MARTA station)Avondale is an at-grade train station on the Blue Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system . It serves Avondale Estates, Georgia , Clarkston, and the communities of Druid Hills, Scottsdale, Tucker, Northlake and North Decatur... - MARTA northern extension to SR 140Georgia State Route 140Georgia state route 140 begins at U.S. 27/S.R. 1 in Armuchee, travels east through Adairsville and across Interstate 75. It goes through Waleska before reaching Canton, where it meets Interstate 575. Georgia 140 then travels southeast into Roswell, where it meets Georgia 400 expressway...
in RoswellRoswell, GeorgiaRoswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
BeltLine
Beltline
The Beltline is a region of central Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The area is located immediately to the south of Calgary's downtown , and is sometimes considered part of downtown...
is a current proposal for the use of light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
and possibly bus or streetcar service on existing railroad right-of-ways around Atlanta's central business districts. The conversion of existing rail right-of-way to the proposed BeltLine also calls for the creation of three additional MARTA rapid transit stations where existing lines intersect the Belt Line at Simpson Road, Hulsey Yard, and Murphy Crossing.
Northern extension
In 2006, MARTA proposed extending the North line beyond North SpringsNorth Springs (MARTA station)
North Springs is an elevated metro station in the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system and the northern terminus for the Red Line...
station along Georgia 400 to either Holcomb Bridge Road
Georgia State Route 140
Georgia state route 140 begins at U.S. 27/S.R. 1 in Armuchee, travels east through Adairsville and across Interstate 75. It goes through Waleska before reaching Canton, where it meets Interstate 575. Georgia 140 then travels southeast into Roswell, where it meets Georgia 400 expressway...
in Roswell
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
and North Point Mall
North Point Mall
North Point Mall, is a super-regional shopping mall, located in Alpharetta, Georgia .The mall opened on October 3, 1993 as one of the largest shopping malls in the country. The mall, originally a Homart property, is now owned and managed by General Growth Properties...
, Old Milton Parkway
Georgia State Route 120
State Route 120 begins at SR 100 near Tallapoosa and ends at West Crogan Street in Lawrenceville.In Marietta, SR 120 has a spur route , which acts as a perimeter for the northern part city. In Paulding County, the highway cosigns with the following highways . Then it cosigns with through Dallas...
, or as far as Windward Parkway in Alpharetta. By 2007, MARTA's website focused on an 11 miles (17.7 km) extension of heavy rail service from North Springs to Windward Parkway in Alpharetta, or a separate light rail line between those two points. Extension of the North line was estimated to cost US$100 million per mile.
The 1-cent sales tax, on which the region will vote on in Summer 2012, would fund MARTA heavy rail extension as far as Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell.
Clifton Corridor
Rapid transit alternatives are as of October 2011, under consideration for the Clifton CorridorClifton Corridor
The Clifton Corridor is a proposed public transportation corridor in and near Atlanta, Georgia. It stretches from Lindbergh Center eastwards, following the existing CSX rail corridor to Emory University, with possible continuation along the northern edge of Decatur via Suburban Plaza on N. Decatur...
, from Lindbergh Center
Lindbergh Center (MARTA station)
Lindbergh Center station is an at-grade Train station on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system in the Lindbergh/Morosgo neighborhood in southern Buckhead. This is a partime terminus of the Red Line and the last transfer point for the Red and Gold ...
, following the CSX rail corridor to Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
, with possible continuation along the northern edge of Decatur on to Avondale MARTA station
Avondale (MARTA station)
Avondale is an at-grade train station on the Blue Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority rail system . It serves Avondale Estates, Georgia , Clarkston, and the communities of Druid Hills, Scottsdale, Tucker, Northlake and North Decatur...
. Bus, light rail and heavy rail rapid-transit options are under consideration.
Proposed new infill stations
Adding another station to the existing line near Armour YardArmour Yard
Armour Yard is a railyard on the northwest side of Interstate 85 between the Piedmont Road and Monroe Drive exits in northeast Atlanta, Georgia, south of the Lindbergh neighborhood of Buckhead...
(MARTA's main railyard, opened 2005) has also been discussed, as the north-south MARTA lines, the northeast BeltLine light rail, proposed commuter rail lines to points northeast such as Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
(the "Brain Train") and Gainesville
Gainesville, Georgia
-Severe Weather:Gainesville sits on the very fringe of Tornado Alley, a region of the United States where severe weather is common. Supercell thunderstorms can sweep through any time between March and November, but are concentrated most in the spring...
, would all pass through Armour Yard.
The proposed Atlanta Multimodal Passenger Terminal (MMPT) would be built next to Five Points station, connecting MARTA to surface passenger rail, including commuter rail, future intercity rail, Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, and possible high-speed rail
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
in the Southeast Corridor
Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor
The Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor is a passenger rail transportation project in the United States to extend high speed passenger rail services from Washington, DC south through Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia through Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina and connect with the existing...
.
Additional expansion plans for MARTA and other metro Atlanta transportation agencies are detailed in Mobility 2030
Mobility 2030 (Atlanta)
Mobility 2030 is the regional transportation plan released in 2003/2004 for the Metro Atlanta, Georgia region. It was developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission and includes projected population growths and possible transportation improvements....
a timeline by the Atlanta Regional Commission
Atlanta Regional Commission
The Atlanta Regional Commission is the regional planning and intergovernmental coordination agency for the metro Atlanta, Georgia region, as defined as a 10-county area including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties, including the city of...
for improving transit through the year 2030.
Criticism and concern
Criticism of MARTA has originated from many different groups. Opponents of MARTA are critical of MARTA's perceived inefficiency and alleged wasteful spending. Supporters of MARTA are critical of the almost complete lack of state and regional support of MARTA. In recent years, additional concerns have been raised regarding criminal activity on MARTA, the reliability of service, as well as the governing structure of MARTA.Lack of regional financial support
Since the formation of MARTA, the Georgia state government has never contributed to MARTA operational funding. Currently, MARTA is the largest mass transportation system in the United States not to receive state funding. Revenue from the Georgia motor fuel taxFuel tax
A fuel tax is an excise tax imposed on the sale of fuel. In most countries the fuel tax is imposed on fuels which are intended for transportation...
is currently restricted to roads and bridges and cannot be used for public transportation, further complicating potential sources of state funding for MARTA. In addition, the other largest three suburban counties (Gwinnett
Gwinnett County, Georgia
, Gwinnett County had a population of 805,321. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 53.3% white , 23.6% black , 2.7% Korean, 2.6% Asian Indian, 2.0% Vietnamese, 3.3% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.8% some other race and 3.1% from two or more races...
, Clayton
Clayton County, Georgia
Clayton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 236,517. The 2008 Census estimate placed the population at 273,718. The county seat is Jonesboro...
, and Cobb
Cobb County, Georgia
Cobb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, which is located in the center of the county. The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb, who in the early 19th century was a United States representative and senator from Georgia...
counties) have refused to join or fund MARTA. Both Gwinnett and Clayton counties initially agreed to join MARTA but refused MARTA rail and bus service when voters in their respective counties voted against paying to help fund the system. These two counties along with Cobb County
Cobb County, Georgia
Cobb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, which is located in the center of the county. The county was named for Thomas Willis Cobb, who in the early 19th century was a United States representative and senator from Georgia...
have instead created their own independent bus systems: Cobb Community Transit
Cobb Community Transit
Cobb Community Transit or CCT is the bus public transit system in Cobb County, Georgia, one of metro Atlanta's three most populous suburban counties...
on July 10, 1989, Gwinnett County Transit
Gwinnett County Transit
Gwinnett County Transit or GCT is the bus public transit system in Gwinnett County, Georgia, USA, one of metro Atlanta's three most populous suburban counties...
on November 5, 2001, and Clayton County C-TRAN
Clayton County C-Tran
The Clayton County C-TRAN was a bus transportation system in Clayton County, Georgia that ran from 2001 to 2010. C-Tran was run by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to manage the local bus system, linking bus routes to MARTA, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and...
on October 1, 2001. On November 2, 2010 Clayton County Residents agreed on a Non-Binding Referendum to join MARTA. A separate regional bus transit service, Xpress, is operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
Georgia Regional Transportation Authority
The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority or GRTA is a government agency in the U.S. state of Georgia...
in partnership with 11 metro Atlanta counties including Fulton and DeKalb, which began service on June 6, 2004.
The MARTA Board members are criticized for not being regular users of MARTA and thus are not actually aware of the concerns of MARTA commuters.
Due to no funding from the state of Georgia and its limited funding from Fulton
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
and DeKalb
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
counties, MARTA has struggled for many years to provide adequate service to the metropolitan area. As a result, MARTA has gained a notorious reputation throughout the metro Atlanta area for being ineffective and inconvenient. Many people who own cars avoid using the system altogether while residents in suburban areas usually drive their car to a MARTA rail station (instead of using bus service) if their job is near an adjacent one. MARTA's financial structure (being tied to a 1% sales tax) has forced the agency to cut services during times of economic depression, further resulting in complaints about the inconvenience and inadequacy of MARTA services.
Although surrounding counties do not pay for MARTA, many of their residents use MARTA by driving directly to a MARTA station or by using a county or regional bus system which connects to MARTA. A license plate study from 1988 to 1997 showed that 44 percent of the cars parked in MARTA park-and-ride lots were from outside of Fulton and DeKalb counties. Current fare reciprocity agreements also allow non-paying counties to provide bus service for their residents which provide free connections to MARTA (see Fare reciprocity). According to a 2000 MARTA ridership study, 12 percent of MARTA riders live outside of MARTA's service area.
Effects of race on expansion and funding
It is often argued that racial politics also play a role in the operation and future service planning for MARTA. Opponents of Georgia's transportation policies have alleged a race-based two-tiered system, where billions are spent by the state on highway expansion to aid the commutes of mostly CaucasianWhite people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
residents of the suburbs and rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
areas (like GRIP), while service cuts at MARTA have hurt mostly African Americans. Proponents contest that a portion of state funding for highways comes from the gasoline tax, a user fee
Fee
A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup.Traditionally, professionals in Great Britain received a fee in contradistinction to a payment, salary, or wage, and would often use guineas rather than pounds as units of account...
analogous to the fare MARTA riders pay. Supporters of MARTA have alleged that the lack of participation by other metro Atlanta counties is rooted in racism and classism
Classism
Classism is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes and behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper classes at the expense of the lower classes...
. In 1987, David Chesnut, then chairman of MARTA, stated, "The development of a regional transit system in the Atlanta area is being held hostage to race, and I think it's high time we admitted it and talked about it." A 1999 MARTA rider survey revealed that 78 percent of MARTA riders are African American. Furthermore, MARTA is sometimes sarcastically said to stand for "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta", a replacement backronym
Backronym
A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....
, due to the relatively low number of white riders, particularly after peak commuting hours.
Criminal activity
Despite a strong safety record, throughout MARTA's history there have been continued concerns regarding criminal activity on MARTA trains and in and around MARTA train stations. In the aftermath of a 1985 aggravated assaultAssault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
against the daughter of a Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
professor, complaints were made that MARTA was underreporting its annual crime statistics. A 1986 review of the previous year's records by MARTA's audit office and the state legislature's MARTA Oversight Committee (MARTOC) showed no deliberate underreporting of crime, but rather over-reporting of crime because MARTA included crimes not related to the rail line and did not adhere to the Uniform Crime Reporting
Uniform Crime Reports
The Uniform Crime Reports are published by the United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program...
system (reporting multiple crimes by the same person instead of only the most serious crime).
According to Federal Transit Administration records, MARTA's crime statistics are in line with those of similar-sized systems, such as Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
in the San Francisco Bay area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. However, high-profile crimes on or near MARTA have created the impression with some that MARTA is unsafe and lacks a strong police presence, even though it has its own police department. From 2005 to 2009, two homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
s and one rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
were reported on MARTA property. The most common crime reported was larceny
Larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of England into their own law. It has been abolished in England and Wales,...
. The most common area for crime was MARTA's rail service, followed by MARTA's parking lots. For fiscal year 2009, MARTA had a crime rate of 3.09 per 1,000,000 riders, with 483 crimes reported during the entire year.
Suburban counties have opposed expanding MARTA on the basis that it would lead to increased crime, as well as the cost of expansion and the lack of perceived necessity to areas currently outside MARTA transit. It is alleged that because MARTA's service area includes some of Atlanta's most economically depressed and high-crime neighborhoods, expansion of MARTA would supposedly allow crime to spread to suburban areas. MARTA CEO, Dr. Scott, has acknowledged that assumption and cites a study that did not find transit systems to nucleate crime. Other counterarguments often cite the case of the Washington Metro
Washington Metro
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...
, which provides services in economically depressed areas with limited problems in suburban Washington D.C. stops.
Reliability of service
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
. Any train failure or track work results in shared use of the other track by trains going opposite direction, a situation known as single-tracking
Single-line working
On a double track railway, single-line working refers to the practice of using one track out of two, usually when one of the tracks is out of use for maintenance or because of damage or some obstruction.- Circumstances :...
. There are no plans at this time to expand the number of tracks. MARTA is currently nearing the end of a complete replacement of tracks on all rail lines. Over the past few years, this replacement work has caused the agency to implement single-tracking on the weekends, which in turn has caused weekend patrons to experience less-frequent service.
In the summer of 2006, as a result of unusually high summertime temperatures, many MARTA rail cars became overheated, damaging on-board propulsion equipment. As a result, many trains broke down and had to be taken out of service for repair. This was further compounded by the fact that at any given time up to 50 older rail cars were out of service as part of MARTA's rail car rehabilitation project. To compensate for the reduced number of operating rail cars, MARTA shortened trains from six to four cars in length. This sometimes resulted in almost half of the trains being shortened, creating crowded conditions for passengers.
Misuse of funds by employees for personal expenses
In 2006 internal and external audits of MARTA corporate spending revealed personal charges on a pair of MARTA credit cards used by former General Manager and CEO Nathaniel Ford and two of his secretaries. Ford's charges included $454 at a golf pro shop, $335 in clothing from Men's WearhouseMen's Wearhouse
Men's Wearhouse is a men's dress apparel retailer in the United States. The company is based in the Westchase area of Houston, Texas, and it is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange...
and a $58 visit to the dentist. In response to the 2006 audit, Ford sent MARTA a check for $1,000 as reimbursement for the charges. An additional credit card with charges involving two of his secretaries, Iris Anthony and Stephannie Smart, was also uncovered. Smart used the cards to pay approximately $6,000 in private expenses, and subsequently agreed to repay this amount to MARTA.
Incidents
On October 15, 2011, 19 year old Joetavius Stafford was killed by a MARTA police officer at the Vine City rail station. MARTA said Stafford was armed while his brother said he was unarmed.See also
- List of metro systems
- List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership
- National Narrowcasting NetworkNational Narrowcasting NetworkNational Narrowcasting Network LLC or N³ is a U.S. company based in Memphis, Tennessee, which installs LCD television monitors in public places and broadcasts television commercials to them. At a cost of 10,000 U.S...
- The Rail NetworkThe Rail NetworkThe Rail Network is the first television and radio network broadcasting digital video with multiple channels of audio to passengers on mass transit subway and rail systems...
- Royal Bus LinesRoyal Bus LinesRoyal Bus Lines is a private bus service in Atlanta, Georgia which operates on Buford Highway and Roswell Road, servicing Perimeter Mall and other surrounding areas. The bus stops primarily at existing MARTA bus stops. The company provides 100,000 rides monthly, with gross revenues of over $1...
External links
- MARTA website
- MARTA Breeze website
- New Georgia Encyclopedia article
- Georgia Regional Transportation Authority website
- Clayton County C-TRAN website
- Cobb Community Transit website
- Gwinnett County Transit website
- nycsubway.org Atlanta page
- The Clueless Commuter's Guide to MARTA
- Citizens for Progressive Transportation - Atlanta Chapter
- Railfanning.org: MARTA Profile
- MARTA rail lines integrated with google maps
- 5 Points Station Map