Fearless in the Loaf

In this week's Creative Loafing:

For some strange reason people in this metro love to brag about how scared MARTA makes them. I suspect many of these people are the same ones with “No Fear” stickers on their trucks.

– Joe Winter at Joeventures.com, quoting a regular MARTA user. Joe has blogged extensively about the Peachtree Street streetcar proposal. He serves on the board of Citizens for Progressive Transit.

The reality of safety on MARTA still hasn't reflected in its image. Sadly people continue the cycle of fear of riding on MARTA. Irony is bittersweet retribution I suppose.

Bidding Wars for C-TRAN Before Deadline

The Clayton County Transit system is currently being run by First Transit, which underbid MARTA to run the system back in 2004. MARTA had been running the system for its first 3 years in service and now they've been asked to take over the reigns again...maybe. First Transit's contract is up at the end of May and "county officials are leaning heavily toward giving the contract back to [MARTA]," according to today's Clayton News Daily.

Mis-communication within the Clayton County government has led to confusion as to which transit authority will control C-TRAN after June 1st. Yet again First Transit has underbid MARTA, but if Clayton County picks MARTA, then they can get a 1 percent sales tax on Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to fund the system thanks to the 1965 MARTA Act. First Transit underbid MARTA by $600,000. Tax revenue from the airport would be around $3,000,000 PER YEAR for the system. Yes. 3 Million. Per year.

Money talks, and there are very powerful incentives for C-TRAN to join back up with MARTA. This is good for transit throughout the metro area because it reminds everyone of the benefits of a unified metro Atlanta transit system. County by county, transit is gaining converts. Come June 1, we will be one step closer to that dream.

MARTA Wins Taxes, Turns to New Projects

Today, MARTA gained the support it has been desperately fighting to get in order to extend the penny tax beyond 2032. Atlanta's City Council and, as of today, the DeKalb County Commission have signed off on the tax extension which will fund MARTA through 2047, allowing MARTA to borrow against the future money and start up on new ambitious capital projects which they've been holding off on while rebuilding and renovating during a financial slump earlier this decade.

MARTA, now doing much better financially than in recent years, has started to change their language during meetings and the general focus now it seems will once again be on capital projects, with Bus Rapid Transit on I-20, the Beltline, and a new line from Lindbergh Station (MARTA HQ) to the Emory area.

Senate Bill could extend MARTA into Gwinnett

A bill has been presented to the state Senate which, if passed, would allow MARTA to extend rail service to Gwinnett County up I-85 without requiring a county-wide approval. SB332 was presented last week by Sen. Curt Thompson (D-Tucker) to the Urban Affairs Committee. According to the Gwinnett Daily Post, the bill was presented so late in the session (on purpose maybe?) that the extension will only be discussed this summer and it will not be voted on until next year.

However, this is still a huge break for MARTA. Not only is Gwinnett investing in transit feasibility studies and is lobbying for more transit options in the suburbs, but Cobb and Clayton counties are also watching very closely how this bill is treated. Cobb is considering rail service to the Cobb Galleria and Clayton has been considering rail service beyond the airport. The result of this bill could greatly influence how previously hostile counties will react to increasing transportation difficulties.

On a side note, MARTA is still ignoring Roswell and N. Fulton's pleas for extended rail service further up GA-400 citing, among other things, a lack of density.

MARTA in the Blotter

In this week's Blotter in the Creative Loafing:

THREE STRANGE DAYS: A 19-year-old woman told a MARTA police officer that a man stole her purse, and that now he was walking down Forsyth Avenue. So the MARTA police officer tracked down the man, age 20, who still had the black purse. He was just about to put the handcuffs on when the man took off running. An Atlanta police officer caught the man a few blocks away. Then the man told police that the woman's purse contained marijuana. The officer asked the woman: "Can I search your purse?" "Yes," she said. Inside, police found 18 baggies of suspected marijuana, plus four sandwich-sized bags of suspected marijuana. The man and woman said they'd known each other for at least three days. The woman said the man is upset because she wants to end their relationship. Both went to jail.

This is not big news. In fact, I'm willing to bet this sort of thing is a daily occurrence somewhere on MARTA. Thankfully at least some of it gets reported on.

Masons Pass - main Beltline chunk changes hands

Thursday the Masons sold their sizable piece of the Beltline property to a new group of investors who should help break the deadlock between the city and developers on the fate of Atlanta's interior rails invisioned as the backbone of a new beltline of trails and developments around the downtown area. MARTA is in charge of the Beltline design, deveolopment, and construction.

Breeze Card finishing touches

MARTA's putting the finishing touches on it's new Breeze Card system. Paper fare cards have been jacked up .50 cents. New plastic Breeze Cards are still being handed out for free at various stations and announced on the P.A. each day. The system gets finalized in July when the motion sensors go off-line and everyone will have to 'tap-out' their cards to leave stations. Monthly and weekly cards still haven't been carried over to the new system ( I go to GSU and we still have the same cards we've always had) and it has yet to be determined when/if they will be changed.

Speaking of the Vent...

Here's my submission:

MARTA cries foul when Cobb and Gwinnett say Not In My Back Yard, but when North Fulton actually demands more rail service, MARTA say it's not dense enough. What's up with that double-speak?

Breeze Card Grumblings...

In the AJC's Sunday Vent:

Starting May 1, MARTA's new Breeze Card is going to cost $5 on top of the regular fare. They should at least be honest and call it the Squeeze Card.

- Very clever, and So true, so true. But just remember this was the entire reason for the gates and the cards in the first place. Track people and suck up the non-regular riders. Anyone who sounds suprised or complains hasn't been paying attention and doesn't ride MARTA. I say yay for taxing the non-users. The regulars and even the 'newbs' already have their free breeze cards in their wallet.


Update:

more venting...

Monday, 3/23: "Five bucks for a Breeze card that supposedly lasts five years? Puh-leeze! After only 10 days, mine got a small nick on its bottom edge and quit working."