By John Ruch Ridership in the metro area’s state-subsidized vanpool program is outpacing that of the Xpress commuter buses for the first time — and that’s just one of the topsy-turvy pandemic effects that has transit planners with the Atlanta-Region Transit Link Authority (The ATL) scrambling to keep up. “This is the first time I […]
Tag: ATL
Posted inLatest News
The ATL remains bullish on future of transit despite shocks of COVID-19
By David Pendered
The region’s transit agency sends an important message in its first major report related to the crisis that is the coronavirus pandemic. The ATL remains bullish on transit and its future.
Posted inLatest News
ATL seeks public input on $29 billion transit wish list
Metro Atlanta residents still have time to offer suggestions on the $29 billion transit wish list being assembled by the region’s transit planning agency, the ATL.
Posted inColumns
Mobile devices now can pay fares on Atlanta Streetcar, are tip of iceberg for region
The future of transit fare collections in metro Atlanta is on display now on the Atlanta Streetcar. Mobile payments are accepted. This digital system is to be deployed across MARTA in coming months, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Posted inColumns
Now is the time for Gwinnett County to expand mass transit
By Guest Columnist AISHA YAQOOB MAHMOOD, director of the Asian American Advocacy Fund
Growing up in Gwinnett County, some of my fondest memories include weekend trips to Jimmy Carter Boulevard to get our ethnic groceries, stock up on some great Indian food, and hang out with our friends at Global Mall. Businesses along the Jimmy Carter corridor have helped bring pieces of home for many Asian communities for over 25 years. To this day, my friends and family from neighboring counties plan trips to Gwinnett, as it is revered a nexus for so many immigrant communities.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia now has state funding for transit, though Legislature to revisit the measure
Georgia now has its first statewide funding for transit. The money – as much as $50 million a year – is to be distributed among the state’s transit agencies under provisions that are to be developed.
Posted inLatest News
Transit expansion in Gwinnett County: ATL to hear presentation Thursday
Gwinnett County voters could get an early indication Thursday as to whether a transit tax could be added to the Nov. 3 ballot. A heavy rail line is eligible for consideration for sales tax funding, to reach from MARTA’s Doraville Station to a future facility in Norcross.
Posted inLatest News
Gwinnett County’s transit plan: Public comment closes Friday; federal funding a question
As Gwinnett County seeks to amend the region’s transit plan on May 27, in advance of a possible transit referendum, federal funding for transit expansion is not even mentioned in the latest pandemic relief plan pending before Congress.
Posted inLatest News
ATL credit rating says proposed state takeover wouldn’t hurt airport’s ability to borrow money
The potential state takeover of Atlanta’s airport did not weigh on the airport’s recent credit rating by analysts who say federal law will control debt payments no matter who controls the facility, according to a recent rating action by Moody’s Investors Service.
Posted inLatest News
Transit funding bill could mean money for region; passage seems iffy, at best
The outlook is bright for transit funding in a spending bill that on Thursday cleared a U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee. However, chances that it has a prayer of becoming law have crumbled amid the latest round of discord over the Democrats’ calls for investigations into President Trump.
Posted inColumns
Georgia senators risk impairing the most important economic engine for our region
By Guest Columnist BEN DECOSTA, former aviation general manager of ATL, 1998-2010
By a 5 to 4 vote, a Senate study committee proposed a hostile takeover of the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) from those who built it over the past 40 years as the premier magnet for global businesses, as a $60 billion regional economic engine and as the door for millions of travelers from around the world to visit Atlanta and America.
Posted inColumns
Hip Hop is one of Atlanta’s greatest exports; so why isn’t it embraced like it?
By King Williams When it opened in June 2017, the Pink Trap House became an instant phenomenon, not only in Atlanta, but in the United States and the global Hip Hop community. In a few short weeks, the Pink Trap House became the actual artistic, cultural and community gathering spot that so many gentrified real […]
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ATL board sworn into office, begins process of establishing presence and purpose
The board of ATL, metro Atlanta’s new regional transit agency, was sworn into office at its first meeting Friday and voted for the typical measures necessary to set up shop. In addition, board members were cited by a ranking member of the state House as the appropriate ones to set the region’s transit trajectory.
Posted inColumns, Main Slider
Atlanta United are our champions
I remember being up late in my cousin Chris’s open area ranch home living room off Columbia Drive in October of 1996 watching the Atlanta Braves lose the World Series to the New York Yankees despite having a commanding 2-0 lead.
My younger brother, my cousin and I were in utter disbelief at what we had just witnessed.
Posted inRegion Matters, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
South Fulton Ready to Take Off: Q&A With Head of Connect South Fulton
By Lyle Harris With the world’s busiest airport in its backyard, convenient access to multi-modal transportation and large swaths of land primed for development, South Fulton County is on the move. Michael Davis, Executive Director of Connect South Fulton, is understandably “bullish” about the prospects for the region to emerge as a flourishing hub for […]
Posted inArts & Culture Seen, Thought Leader
The Genius vs Moments of Brilliance
By Fabian Williams (AKA “Occasional Superstar”)While scrolling down my Instagram feed, I come across at least two posts a day claiming someone is a genius. Any and everybody: Albert Einstein. Prince. Steve Jobs. Most recently—Kanye West, via Jimmy Kimmel Live, has been telling the world he’s a genius. I thought to myself, genius! By doing […]
Posted inLatest News
First sign of the ATL: Xpress bus system moving to Breeze cards in 2018
The Xpress commuter bus system that operates in 12 metro counties is phasing out its magnetic ticket system as of Dec. 31 and shifting to the Breeze card. The move is an early step in the effort to unify the transit systems that serve metro Atlanta.
Posted inLatest News
Upcoming talks about new transit plan likely to focus on benefits to commuters
The public awareness campaign for the ATL and metro Atlanta’s new transit project is starting. The central message that’s emerging is that transit will be improved even if voters don’t approve more funding via sales taxes.
Posted inArts & Culture Seen, Thought Leader
Artwashing: Capitalism and Art
By Matthew TerrellWe’ve all heard the term “selling out” – sacrificing artistic purity for the sake of profit. There’s a perennial distrust amongst the arts community of business people, and the effect capitalism has on art. The idea is that caring about profit makes an artist and their work less noble, and destroys their creative […]
