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 Transit: Tapping into MARTA's Potential
This surge in MARTA success was no random event. It was the result of the strategic expansion of service during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Hours were extended, frequency of service was increased, and heavily used routes were reinforced with extra buses and trains. Throughout the Olympic Games, MARTA demonstrated that it was a convenient, efficient, and even the preferable alternative to the commuting alone by car. The system was full to capacity almost the entire duration of the games, and MARTA received local, national, and even international accolades for its overall success. So what has happened? Today, MARTA's ridership is 450,000 trips per day.3 Loss of funding, service cutbacks, and fare hikes have resulted in a decrease in efficiency and usefulness of Atlanta's public transit system to Atlanta citizens. Still the Bush administration has failed to present cities like Atlanta with an adequate plan to help their aging and financially strapped transit systems, and they have failed to meet the rising demand for cleaner, convenient transportation choices. MARTA's amazing capacity to increase mobility, ease traffic, and improve air quality is being wasted and those who cannot easily move about the region without MARTA are being the hardest hit. Badili Jones has been a MARTA rider for many years. Like many others living in the region, he doesn't own a car and public transit is his main mode of transportation. Badili commutes to work every day from Northeast Atlanta to the West Side. Unfortunately, because of service cutbacks over the last few years, his MARTA commute, which involves one train transfer and one bus transfer, has been increased to over an hour. Recently, MARTA was forced to implement another series of service cutbacks because of funding shortfalls. The most popular bus route, the #39, which is also Badili's route, will now run every 16 minutes instead of every 8 minutes during the morning rush hour. This worsens an already serious crowding problem. Badili, 47 years old, suffers from arthritis in his knee, but rarely gets a seat. "It sure would be nice to sit down on the way to work," Badili said. "But what's worse is when I can't go places. If there's an event that will be over after my bus stops running, I just can't attend it. And there are lots of people in Atlanta, just like me." Badili knows MARTA could be far quicker and more efficient than it is today. It is a system that has shown what amazing feats it can accomplish for Atlanta if the proper investments are made by our leaders. Unfortunately, such visionary leadership is lacking at the national level. The Bush administration favors funneling the lion's share of transportation money into new highway construction, leaving little left over for investment in public transportation. The Bush administration has also made highway projects a less expensive option than paying transit projects. The Bush administration has proposed that local governments would have to provide 50 percent of the capital cost as well as all the maintenance cost for transit, compared with only providing 20 percent of the capital for highways. These anti-transit policies are making it more and more difficult for states to diversify their overall transportation plans so that they include many modes and choices for commuters. The ultimate consequence is that we are forced to give up the congestion relief and air quality improvement benefits of a well designed, modern public transit system in favor of sprawling highways. Last year, the Bush administration proposed the elimination of the Bus Capital Program. This successful program has helped ensure that transit systems of all sizes can replace old equipment at a more affordable cost to them. Cutting the Bus Capital Program will hurt transit in Atlanta significantly since most of our transit is provided by bus. Many buses in the fleet are old and many proposed system expansions rely on bus purchases. The Bush administration's policies, however, are standing in the way of system improvements by repeatedly placing public transit funding on the budget chopping block, favoring highways over cleaner public transportation. The Atlanta region, like much of the United States, is experiencing rapid growth. However, the Bush administration seems to be uninterested in meeting the travel needs of these future residents or solving the major smog problems we face. Sadly, the state of Georgia seems to be following suit, by favoring costly new highways over badly needed bus and rail options. These proposals will cripple Georgia's future efforts to invest in more desirable public transportation and clean up our air. Atlanta can do better. Reinvesting in our public transportation system and providing more transportation choices is critical to the region's economic future and the health of people living here. By ensuring reliable funding for public transportation projects, the state of Georgia could tap into the full potential of MARTA once again. For more information contact:
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