Home » GRTA » Page 2

Tag: GRTA
Posted inDavid Pendered

GRTA considers options to keep its bus fleet safe, reliable, tidy

by David Pendered

Repair or replace? That’s the question facing GRTA as it considers its fleet of aging buses. The answer isn’t obvious.

Repair is cheaper for the next six years. But after that, replacement is the less expensive option, according to a consultant’s report presented Wednesday to GRTA’s board.

GRTA officials have presented the figures to Gov. Nathan Deal’s staff, and to the governor’s budget writing agency, the Office of Planning and Budget. The timing suggests GRTA may seek some level of funding in the state’s upcoming FY 2016 budget, which the next governor will present to the Legislature in January.

Posted inDavid Pendered

New regional transit trip-planner website growing slowly, as planned

by David Pendered

A new transit website serving metro Atlanta is an example of local agencies responding to an idea many view as sensible, and which results from legislation that wasn’t enacted by the General Assembly.

In the first two weeks after its very soft launch, on July 1, ATLtransit.org has attracted slightly more than 1,000 views.

The website intends to help transit riders plan and pay for trips that involve riding one or more of the region’s transit systems. Four transit systems and ARC decided to build the site even though the Legislature did not vote for the concept brought forward by Sen. Brandon (R-Alpharetta).

Posted inDavid Pendered

Air quality improving in metro Atlanta, according to preliminary GRTA report

by David Pendered

The air quality in metro Atlanta is showing significant improvements in terms of a reduction in the amount of fine particulates, according to a preliminary report by GRTA.

The number of “good” air quality days reached a preliminary figure of about 50 percent in 2013, the best year on a chart that shows years going back to 2004. The air quality index hovered in the mid 60 percentile range from 2012 back to 2009.

If the preliminary findings stand, the region will meet the stricter air quality standards the federal EPA imposed in December 2012. Metro Atlanta’s improvements coincide with the great recession and a number of rules implemented by Georgia.

Posted inDavid Pendered

GRTA marks 10th anniversary with “thank you” events at park-and-ride locations through June 29

by David Pendered

GRTA is marking a few milestones this summer with customer appreciation events at each of its park-and-ride locations. The first events were held Tuesday in Gwinnett County.

The Xpress bus service has now been operating for 10 years. The service has provided more than 17 million passenger trips during that period and now provides about 2 million trips a year, according to GRTA.

The commemorations occur even as mobility remains a major public issue in metro Atlanta. The latest example unfolded Tuesday in Clayton County, when MARTA GM Keith Parker presented an overview of how MARTA could serve the county if Clayton resumes bus service.

Posted inDavid Pendered

GRTA complies with Civil Rights Act, except for amenities in four parking lots, internal report shows

by David Pendered

GRTA complies with the federal Civil Rights Act in the operation of Xpress bus service, but four parking lots lack required amenities, according to results of a self-review the GRTA board discussed Wednesday.

The issue is a lack of amenities such as ADA parking in a leased lot, pavilions, security cameras, and call boxes, the review determined. The board voted to address the shortcomings.

Other than the parking lot issues, the review determined that GRTA complies with the provisions of Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, as administered by the Federal Transit Administration.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Traffic relief, transit upgrades funded in ARC’s five-year spending plan

by David Pendered

A new plan due for initial adoption Wednesday by the ARC board shows the extent to which $7-plus billion can go toward improving metro Atlanta’s transportation network.

Planners talk up the will-do projects contained in this five-year spending proposal, rather than lofty visions in the Atlanta Regional Commission’s long-range transportation plan. The ARC’s 2040 plan update is up for adoption, as well.

This strategy of focusing on the five-year plan addresses some realpolitiks: Regional traffic is building after the recession, while transportation funding remains scarce; A vote to adopt a regional transportation plan will show ARC’s board is not immobilized by disagreement over who should be elected as a citizen board member.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Getting around without a car: Transportation funding proposals promote transit, walking, biking

by David Pendered

Bicycling, walking and transit are getting more attention as metro Atlanta planners prepare to adopt the proposed update of the region’s short- and long-term transportation plans. The plans are to be approved within 30 days.

“We will see this discussion grow more robust: How can we ensure a transit network and pedestrian network that improves moving people to regional job centers,” the ARC’s David Haynes said at Wednesday’s GRTA board meeting.

Posted inDavid Pendered

GRTA’s Xpress bus funding quietly becomes part of state’s base budget

by David Pendered

Georgia has quietly gotten into the business of subsidizing regional bus service in metro Atlanta.

Gov. Nathan Deal and state lawmakers have made barely a peep this year about providing about the $8.2 million that Deal recommended to pay for bus service provided by GRTA, the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. This sum doesn’t quite cover a year’s worth of operations, and the legislature likely will fill the gap next year.

This transit funding is remarkable, if only for its history.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Transportation update: GRTA’s acting director, MARTA reorg on hold, Atlanta’s transportation planning

by David Pendered

Some degree of clarity is emerging in metro Atlanta’s cauldron of transportation planners, managers, and planning.

GRTA Executive Director Jannine Miller visited the Capitol Thursday to say her goodbyes to lawmakers and introduce them to Kirk Fjelstul, her deputy director who was named by GRTA’s board as acting director. Down Mitchell Street from the Capitol, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed remains without a transportation planning director as the city tries to figure out how to realign Martin Luther King Jr. Drive around the future Falcons stadium and implement its bike share program.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Future of Xpress bus service so rosy that GRTA looking for better bus barn

by David Pendered

GRTA is looking for a better place to store and maintain its fleet of Xpress buses.

This is a dramatic turn-about for a transit service that seemed imperiled by the failure of the 2012 transportation sales tax referendum. The future is rosier, now that Gov. Nathan Deal and the Legislature have inserted money for Xpress bus operations into the state’s continuation budget.

“We feel more confident than we had before,” said GRTA Executive Director Jannine Miller.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Metro Atlanta roads: How to make do with a transportation system that’s (mostly) already on the ground

by David Pendered

State and regional transportation planners are taking the steps they think are within reach in order to relieve traffic congestion in metro Atlanta. GRTA’s board took its first step Wednesday.

The solution won’t be a magic bullet, no more so than if voters in 2012 had approved the construction program envisioned for the proposed 1 percent transportation sales tax. Transit was not part of Wednesday’s conversation.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s touch is evident in the new approach. Deal said after the sales tax referendum that the state would focus on affordable transportation solutions, or, in the words of the resolution approved by GRTA’s board: Georgia will, “improve the movement of people and goods across and within the state [in order to] expand Georgia’s role as a major logistic hub for global commerce.”

Posted inDavid Pendered

Public transit outlook remains case of: “Better the devil you know”

by David Pendered

The landscape of public transit has become clearer in metro Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia, at least for the next year – not much will change.

The state Senate essentially gave MARTA’s new GM, Keith Parker, a year to get settled into the job and devise plans to curb costs and raise revenues. The Senate stalled expansive legislation, which the House had approved, to privatize segments of MARTA and otherwise retool its board and operations.

Gov. Nathan Deal prevailed in his effort for the state to fund Xpress, the regional bus service overseen by GRTA. Finally, the planning process continues to advance for helping people take public transit to their medical appointments, and other critical destinations, in metro Atlanta and throughout Georgia.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Legislature OKs $8.1 million for Xpress buses, stalls MARTA reorganization plan until next year

by David Pendered

Two transit measures that are important to metro Atlanta commuters were resolved when the state Legislature ended its 2013 session late Thursday.

The Xpress bus service received $8.1 million in funding, which will enable the commuter bus program operated by GRTA to continue its service through the fiscal year that begins July 1. An additional $567,000 will keep buses running through June 30.

A proposal to reorganize MARTA and privatize some of its operations stalled in the Senate and is eligible for reconsideration in the Legislature’s 2014 session.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Metro Atlanta’s transportation funding clobbered by recession, dip in federal support, ARC study shows

by David Pendered

Some truly jaw-dropping numbers that reveal the harrowing impact of the recession on transportation funding in metro Atlanta were presented Wednesday to the board that oversees GRTA.

All the numbers relate to the amount of money that will be available to build and maintain roads and bridges, and transit. The revenue figures are down – across the board – from federal to state to local dollars.

Here’s a wry observation of Georgia’s expected share of the federal transportation bill that President Obama signed in 2012: “We were excited to see it, until we began to look at the money in it,” said John Orr, a senior planner with ARC who made the presentation to GRTA’s board.

Posted inDavid Pendered

GRTA quietly making case to state lawmakers to fund Xpress bus service

by David Pendered

GRTA is working diligently at the state Capitol to support funding for Xpress, the regional bus service that is in line to receive $8.7 million in state funding, if state lawmakers support budget requests by Gov. Nathan Deal.

GRTA, which manages the bus system, is making the case to help lawmakers see the value in state funding for a transit system that reportedly takes 1.5 million cars a year off metro Atlanta’s roads with its 2.4 million boardings in fiscal year 2012.

Jannine Miller, GRTA’s executive director, on Wednesday walked GRTA board members through the presentation the agency is delivering to lawmakers. The message is simple: Xpress represents a good fiscal policy for lawmakers to support.

Posted inDavid Pendered

Xpress bus service funded in Gov. Deal’s proposed FY 2014 budget

by David Pendered

The Xpress bus service operated by GRTA will continue to operate through at least June 2014 if the Legislature leaves intact the operating funds recommended by Gov. Nathan Deal in his budget proposal for FY 2014.

Deal also made history by including Xpress funding in the state’s annual budget, rather than its supplemental budget. That’s significant because eliminating money from programs that are included in the annual budget has, historically, been much more difficult than eliminating funding that was provided in the amended budget, or supplemental budget, the Legislature adopts in the middle of a fiscal year.

Deal provided $8.1 million for Xpress operations in the budget he unveiled Thursday. The money would offset the loss of local and federal funds, according to the line item in the governor’s budget.

Posted inDavid Pendered

ARC’s first reorg in a generation aims to meet region’s emerging needs

by David Pendered

The Atlanta Regional Commission is embarking on its first reorganization in a generation, in order to meet the demands of the post-recession paradigm that’s emerging from the public and private sectors.

Silos of expertise are to be replaced by collaborative teams. An example of the new approach would be for ARC planners to examine mobility rather than transportation – a shift that frames the issue in a fashion that begs for broader solutions.

“Because we are changing in so many ways as a region, ARC realizes we have to be more adaptable to help local governments solve more problems,” said Doug Hooker, ARC’s executive director.

Posted inDavid Pendered

New MARTA GM Keith Parker visits GRTA board for hellos, handshakes

by David Pendered

MARTA GM Keith Parker got a warm reception from the GRTA board when he visited on Wednesday.

Parker made a few remarks in which in he introduced himself as a complete person – a manager who favors “low cost, high impact improvements,” a leader who’s a good listener, and a family man with three children – including one just a month old.

The visit was just the latest of Parker’s stops on his outreach tour. Parker didn’t make any grand announcements, but he did make the important effort to meet his professional colleagues in the public transit arena.

Posted inMoments, Moments Season 1

Bob Voyles’ Moment was hearing Atlanta’s traffic would prevent his daughter’s return

Avatar photo by adminmegan

Bob Voyles has spent much of his career developing signature buildings that grace Atlanta’s prime intersections and highways, so “it was like a fire bell going off in my head” when his daughter Virginia revealed she wasn’t moving back to her hometown because of Atlanta’s growing congestion.

“This was a huge surprise to me, because I love Atlanta and worked here nearly 40 years and my family is from here and always expected my children to want to embrace the city that I loved,” Bob recalled in our accompanying video.

Posted inMaria's Metro

Atlanta region standing strong on regional transit governance and changes to MARTA Act

Avatar photo by Maria Saporta

It should be so simple.

Establishing a regional transit governance structure and tweaking the MARTA Act to make the transit system more functional should be no brainers.

But when sound ideas are placed in the hands of some members of the General Assembly they somehow become distorted, convoluted and warped with political baggage.

Then when people and institutions object to proposed bills have been drafted with flawed thinking rather than common sense, those bills often just die on the vine and nothing gets done.

Gift this article