MARTA Metro
@martametro.bsky.social
Here for discussion on ways to improve the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority ridership experience. Criticism, appreciation, information are welcome. Ideological politics are not. Not employed by or affiliated with MARTA.
Pinned
MARTA Metro
@martametro.bsky.social
· Feb 5
Hello and welcome to MARTA Metro. I'm a frequent MARTA rider, train and bus, but not a daily commuter. My proximity to the Chamblee station in DeKalb means I have a personal and vested interest in seeing the system thrive. This account is a forum for ideas on how to improve the ridership experience.
Reposted by MARTA Metro
INBOX: The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has pledged to increase daytime weekend service to the highest levels seen in two decades, beginning April 19th.
For the first time, marta will run Red Line trains to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport all weekend.
For the first time, marta will run Red Line trains to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport all weekend.
April 4, 2025 at 5:47 PM
INBOX: The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has pledged to increase daytime weekend service to the highest levels seen in two decades, beginning April 19th.
For the first time, marta will run Red Line trains to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport all weekend.
For the first time, marta will run Red Line trains to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport all weekend.
I've ridden this line. Funny story, I got on going the wrong direction and went three stops before getting off to go the other way. Still wasted less than ten minutes. Almost inconceivable here.
"It's a world record."
Line 14 of the #Paris Métro, a 27-kilometer automated route, is now running trains every 85 seconds, or 42 an hour.
Each train can carry 1,200 passengers. It's expected to serve 1 *million* riders a day later this year.
www.leparisien.fr/info-paris-i...
Line 14 of the #Paris Métro, a 27-kilometer automated route, is now running trains every 85 seconds, or 42 an hour.
Each train can carry 1,200 passengers. It's expected to serve 1 *million* riders a day later this year.
www.leparisien.fr/info-paris-i...
April 14, 2025 at 1:19 PM
I've ridden this line. Funny story, I got on going the wrong direction and went three stops before getting off to go the other way. Still wasted less than ten minutes. Almost inconceivable here.
For me, it's the #19. Currently endangered due to Nextgen route cuts. www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture...
A love letter to riding the MARTA bus
On nights when ride-share surge pricing and drunk drivers rule Atlanta’s streets, the bus is an absolute haven, particularly in rail-service dead zones. Thanks to lopsided budget requirements that pri...
www.atlantamagazine.com
April 4, 2025 at 3:03 PM
For me, it's the #19. Currently endangered due to Nextgen route cuts. www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture...
I guess this means no transit ON the Beltline for at least a decade. atlanta.urbanize.city/post/beltlin...
City: Downtown streetcar will extend to Eastside Trail—but not in it
Westward extension could also link to Georgia Tech, Atlanta University Center, per project leaders
atlanta.urbanize.city
April 2, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I guess this means no transit ON the Beltline for at least a decade. atlanta.urbanize.city/post/beltlin...
The Atocha train station in Madrid has a garden inside.
March 28, 2025 at 11:52 AM
The Atocha train station in Madrid has a garden inside.
Stealing this from a post on the other site, my #8 MARTA improvement: utilize the unused parking lots. This one in Chamblee has been closed for over a year. They repaved it 6 months ago...for what?! Some time ago a Chamblee official suggested the Chamblee library relocate here. Love that idea but $$
March 7, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Stealing this from a post on the other site, my #8 MARTA improvement: utilize the unused parking lots. This one in Chamblee has been closed for over a year. They repaved it 6 months ago...for what?! Some time ago a Chamblee official suggested the Chamblee library relocate here. Love that idea but $$
Get it done, MARTA. The biggest indirect improvement they could make to the (paying) ridership experience.
NYC: “Subway fare evasion decreased by 26% over the past six months…The data, which highlights the effectiveness of strategies implemented by the MTA, shows a decline from 14% of subway riders evading fares to just 10%.” www.amny.com/news/subway-...
Subway Fare Evasion Down, City Cracks Down on Violations
Subway fare evasion continues to go down the drain, as city officials ramp up efforts to curb fare-beating and ensure fair payment across the MTA system.
www.amny.com
March 7, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Get it done, MARTA. The biggest indirect improvement they could make to the (paying) ridership experience.
Reposted by MARTA Metro
If MARTA really is having a widespread problem with the devices that count riders at rail stations, they need to be upfront and transparent about it in a proactive way and let everyone know what the need is, what the cost is, and how soon it can be fixed.
1/2
1/2
Are Breeze card readers at MARTA rail stations really broken enough to impact ridership statistics this much?
If so, this maintenance failure is as concerning as the ridership itself, since fare payments affect MARTA's ability to fund things like maintenance.
www.fox5atlanta.com/news/fewer-a...
1/
If so, this maintenance failure is as concerning as the ridership itself, since fare payments affect MARTA's ability to fund things like maintenance.
www.fox5atlanta.com/news/fewer-a...
1/
Fewer Atlantans are taking the train, but MARTA says numbers are off
Ridership on MARTA trains has dropped in the last year, according to new data from the Federal Transit Administration.
www.fox5atlanta.com
March 6, 2025 at 2:10 PM
If MARTA really is having a widespread problem with the devices that count riders at rail stations, they need to be upfront and transparent about it in a proactive way and let everyone know what the need is, what the cost is, and how soon it can be fixed.
1/2
1/2
Also the lack of shovels in the ground for projects the funding was approved for nearly ten years ago. I'm not in ATL, but I understand why trust would be eroded.
“The unreliability and low customer experience that occurs for too many Atlanta residents daily across MARTA has eroded the trust riders desire to place in our transit agency,” Shipman said.
MARTA train ridership fell in 2024 despite gains nationally
www.ajc.com/news/atlanta...
MARTA train ridership fell in 2024 despite gains nationally
www.ajc.com/news/atlanta...
MARTA train ridership fell in 2024 despite gains nationally
Only two cities saw ridership fall more compared to the prior year, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of monthly ridership reports from the FTA.
www.ajc.com
March 5, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Also the lack of shovels in the ground for projects the funding was approved for nearly ten years ago. I'm not in ATL, but I understand why trust would be eroded.
Reposted by MARTA Metro
MARTA saw a slight bump in rail ridership last week - the first week federal employees were required back in offices: www.ajc.com/news/atlanta...
With federal workers back downtown, MARTA sees a bump in ridership
About 20,000 more train trips were reported last week compared to the same week a year prior.
www.ajc.com
March 5, 2025 at 4:01 PM
MARTA saw a slight bump in rail ridership last week - the first week federal employees were required back in offices: www.ajc.com/news/atlanta...
sbahn.berlin/en/tickets/a... My #7 MARTA improvement I'd like to see: make family and group travel more affordable. MARTA allows small children to ride for free, but that's about it. Some systems, Berlin for ex, offer group discounts (and at off peak times even two adults can travel on one fare).
Group Tickets
If you are travelling in a group, you can save with the Group Tickets.
sbahn.berlin
March 4, 2025 at 3:49 PM
sbahn.berlin/en/tickets/a... My #7 MARTA improvement I'd like to see: make family and group travel more affordable. MARTA allows small children to ride for free, but that's about it. Some systems, Berlin for ex, offer group discounts (and at off peak times even two adults can travel on one fare).
One of the reasons I had fare gate improvements at #1 on my list of non-service expansion upgrades MARTA needs to make. In the meantime, fare gate enforcement seems to be non-existent.
We have rail ridership data through 2024 now and it’s down compared to 2023. But MARTA says the drop doesn’t reflect actual ridership, only continued issues with fare gates that are either a) broken in the open position b) aren’t recording Breeze taps as a ride www.ajc.com/news/atlanta...
MARTA train ridership fell in 2024 despite gains nationally
Only two cities saw ridership fall more compared to the prior year, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of monthly ridership reports from the FTA.
www.ajc.com
March 4, 2025 at 2:10 PM
One of the reasons I had fare gate improvements at #1 on my list of non-service expansion upgrades MARTA needs to make. In the meantime, fare gate enforcement seems to be non-existent.
Okay, but some of these locations, CDC for ex, have only basic bus service. www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/02/26/m...
MARTA encourages federal workers to take transit as in-person work order goes into effect
As federal employees return to their offices in downtown Atlanta this week under an order from President Donald Trump, MARTA is recommending commuters take transit.
www.atlantanewsfirst.com
March 3, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Okay, but some of these locations, CDC for ex, have only basic bus service. www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/02/26/m...
MSN
www.msn.com
February 26, 2025 at 2:02 PM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl7c... Precovid rankings here so maybe different now. MARTA not mentioned but they were in bottom ten in other rankings I've seen. BART a surprise #2 but their distance-based fares a factor. MARTA needs improvement here as outside funding likely constrained for now.
10 Transit Services That Do Huge Numbers At the Farebox
YouTube video by Ray Delahanty | CityNerd
www.youtube.com
February 25, 2025 at 5:53 PM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl7c... Precovid rankings here so maybe different now. MARTA not mentioned but they were in bottom ten in other rankings I've seen. BART a surprise #2 but their distance-based fares a factor. MARTA needs improvement here as outside funding likely constrained for now.
Reposted by MARTA Metro
INBOX: Atlanta-area Democrats have introduced HR 312 at the Georgia State House, which would commend marta CEO Collie Greenwood.
Collie Greenwood has lost half of marta's pre-COVID ridership, second-worst among major cities. The system did not run normally for any two consecutive weekends in 2024.
Collie Greenwood has lost half of marta's pre-COVID ridership, second-worst among major cities. The system did not run normally for any two consecutive weekends in 2024.
Georgia General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly, is one of the largest state legislatures in the nation. The General Assembly consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
www.legis.ga.gov
February 25, 2025 at 3:37 AM
INBOX: Atlanta-area Democrats have introduced HR 312 at the Georgia State House, which would commend marta CEO Collie Greenwood.
Collie Greenwood has lost half of marta's pre-COVID ridership, second-worst among major cities. The system did not run normally for any two consecutive weekends in 2024.
Collie Greenwood has lost half of marta's pre-COVID ridership, second-worst among major cities. The system did not run normally for any two consecutive weekends in 2024.
Ah weekends...
Extremely rare occurrence: on a stopped MARTA train and overheard a passenger sigh and say, “I should’ve taken the bus”
February 23, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Ah weekends...
Reposted by MARTA Metro
MARTA is taking steps to future-proof the new railcars for full autonomous operation. MARTA signed a $500M contract w/ the manufacturer of the new railcars for CBCT system. A step towards autonomation.
www.itsmarta.com/marta-improv...
www.itsmarta.com/marta-improv...
February 20, 2025 at 7:06 PM
MARTA is taking steps to future-proof the new railcars for full autonomous operation. MARTA signed a $500M contract w/ the manufacturer of the new railcars for CBCT system. A step towards autonomation.
www.itsmarta.com/marta-improv...
www.itsmarta.com/marta-improv...
Yep.
470 cancelled MARTA bus trips in a single day. And the day isn't over yet. This is insane. Also, why isn't this headline news?
If we can't find a way to lower these cancellations, the improvements from the new bus system redesign are going to be severely limited.
cancellations.getsmarta.app
If we can't find a way to lower these cancellations, the improvements from the new bus system redesign are going to be severely limited.
cancellations.getsmarta.app
February 20, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Yep.
#6 MARTA improvement: more automation. This may be the most controversial one. As far as I know, MARTA has no plans for any automation beyond the recorded announcements. The new trains coming later this year have autonomous capabilities, but MARTA would have to take some technical steps to do so.
February 20, 2025 at 2:39 PM
#6 MARTA improvement: more automation. This may be the most controversial one. As far as I know, MARTA has no plans for any automation beyond the recorded announcements. The new trains coming later this year have autonomous capabilities, but MARTA would have to take some technical steps to do so.
Some thoughts about the planned bus network overhaul. I understand the goal is to prioritize frequent service or coverage, with no new funds, but this could be very disruptive for bus dependent riders. The plan is currently in the user feedback stage. And there are some issues I see with that.
Additional Resources | MARTA NextGen Bus
Material about MARTA's Draft Network Plan.
www.martanextgenbusnetwork.com
February 19, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Some thoughts about the planned bus network overhaul. I understand the goal is to prioritize frequent service or coverage, with no new funds, but this could be very disruptive for bus dependent riders. The plan is currently in the user feedback stage. And there are some issues I see with that.
My takeaway is that you can exit the #2 bus with a bike and not have to go through Ponce City Market to get to the Beltline.
Project linking Eastside Trail to eating, shopping districts, improved bike lanes nears finish
Beltline's long-promised connection to Ponce is (almost) here
Project linking Eastside Trail to eating, shopping districts, improved bike lanes nears finish
atlanta.urbanize.city
February 19, 2025 at 4:12 PM
My takeaway is that you can exit the #2 bus with a bike and not have to go through Ponce City Market to get to the Beltline.
