The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Police Department continues to lead the way in public transportation emergency preparedness. Members of MARTA’s police force, executive management team, and board members gathered recently to dedicate the Authority’s new $1.2 million state-of-the-art Mobile Command Vehicle. The 45-foot vehicle allows the MARTA Police and Emergency Management Department to have […]
Tag: MARTA
Posted inThought Leader, Transit
Attention MARTA riders, if you commute in from the Eastside of Atlanta, your commute will be affected by the upcoming Georgia Dome implosion. For safety reasons, MARTA is suspending all rail service west of Five Points after normal operations at 1:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 20. A portion of MARTA’s train tunnels lay almost directly under the implosion […]
Posted inLatest News
Metro Atlanta Speaks: regional support for transit continues to grow
Transit is becoming an easier sell in the Atlanta region.
That is the top finding from the 2017 Metro Atlanta Speaks – the fifth year that the Atlanta Regional Commission has commissioned a comprehensive survey of residents throughout the region. The results were to be released at the ARC’s State of the Region Breakfast on Friday morning.
Posted inLatest News
MARTA’s proposed rail line in East DeKalb County: Public input sought on TODs
Planning for MARTA to build a heavy rail line from the Indian Creek Station to the Mall at Stonecrest continues and, in early November, the public will have a chance to learn about – and give their input on – the shape of potential development around possible rail stations.
Posted inLatest News
MARTA to repair to walkways at Inman Park, parking lot at Candler Park stations
MARTA is preparing to address some routine maintenance at two rail stations that is expected to improve the experience of pedestrians and commuters. Repairs are slated for the stations at Inman Park/Reynoldstown and Edgewood/Candler Park.
Posted inLatest News
Consultant onboard, recommendations en route for state role in transit
With a Tuesday vote, the members of a state House panel decided to commission a study on the state’s mass transit needs, and how to fund and manage the delivery of that transit.
Posted inColumns
MARTA – a jewel in metro Atlanta’s economic development future
All of a sudden, nearly everybody wants MARTA.
Metro Atlanta and Georgia have always been obsessed with economic development – attracting new companies to town or getting existing companies to expand.
So when Amazon says it wants to locate its second headquarters in a place with transit, it is sending a message loud and clear to our state and local officials that metro Atlanta needs to expand its regional transit system.
Posted inUncategorized
What the closing of Atlanta’s largest shelter means for our homeless population
By Dan Williams, program officer, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta Recently, while riding MARTA to work, I sat across from a woman appearing to experience mental illness. The sound of her shrill laugh permeated the train car as she raised her arms wildly in the air. Her wide-open, ragged roller bag, obviously too difficult to […]
Posted inATL Business Chronicle
Keith Parker leaving MARTA better than he found it
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Sept. 8, 2017
The impending departure of MARTA General Manager and CEO Keith Parker the transit agency announced Sept. 5 comes at a pivotal time in the system’s history.
After 25 years in the transit industry — including five years at MARTA — Parker will be leaving this fall to become president and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia.
Posted inColumns
For MARTA’s future, culture is everything
MARTA recently hosted its latest hack-a-thon, a high-tech competition inviting participants to create their own “hacks” or improvements to make the transit agency more effective, efficient and customer friendly.
Hack-a-thons aren’t new; large companies have been holding them for years. But for MARTA, they’re a really big deal. As the agency starts searching for its next CEO, that person should understand how such events foster a culture of openness and innovation that’s critical to MARTA’s forward trajectory.
Posted inUncategorized
Chief Counsel Elizabeth O’Neill named interim MARTA leader
MARTA Chief Counsel Elizabeth O’Neill will temporarily l take over leadership of the agency as it searches for a new permanent leader to replace outgoing General Manager and CEO Keith Parker.
Posted inLatest News
MARTA saves millions by paying off a debt incurred partly to fund bus rapid transit
MARTA expects to save a total of $41.6 million in future interest costs by refinancing $250 million in bonds that were sold in 2009. Part of the money was to have helped pay for a long-envisioned bus that would travel in a dedicated lane
Posted inLatest News
Transit politics: MARTA vows commitment to SW ATL; mayoral candidate retorts
Either MARTA intends to expand transit service in Southwest Atlanta, or MARTA and Atlanta are collaborating to bury Southwest Atlanta in favor of building a rail line to Emory University and its gridlocked Clifton Road corridor. At Atlanta City Hall on Wednesday, MARTA talked about its commitment to Southwest, and mayoral candidate Vincent Fort raised the Clifton corridor issue.
Posted inLatest News
Atlanta mayoral candidate questions possible transit spend at Emory
Some six weeks before Atlanta City Council is expected to vote on Emory University’s petition to join the city, a state lawmaker who’s running for mayor is raising questions about the equity of possible spending on a light rail line in the would-be part of Atlanta.
Posted inLatest News
MARTA, City of Atlanta and Relay Bikes seek to close ‘last mile’ gap
MARTA and the City of Atlanta are teaming up to provide the elusive “last mile” for people seeking alternative ways to get around.
MARTA and the city’s Relay bike sharing program launched their partnership on July 14 with an actual bike relay from the Colony Square bike station to MARTA’s Arts Center Station. MARTA and city employees “competed” in an effort to “win” the relay.
Posted inLatest News
MARTA-streetcar terms expected in coming weeks
The Atlanta Streetcar is heading for MARTA management and ownership, but the document that will list the details of the transfer from the city to the agency is still some weeks from publication.
Posted inLatest News
Georgia House leader signals openness to state funding for transit
A group of state legislators plus county and transit bosses convened in Atlanta on Thursday to start work on recommendations for the state’s transit systems. They heard a hint that state leaders may look favorably on Georgia contributions toward transit.
Posted inLatest News
ATL Streetcar transfer to MARTA to take about a year: Public Works commissioner
The transfer of the ownership and management of the Atlanta Streetcar from the city to MARTA will take about a year to finalize and will be retroactive to July 1, Atlanta’s Public Works commissioner said Wednesday.
Posted inLatest News
MARTA aims for better transit experience through art
When Jenn Cornell cranked up her cello at the top of the Northbound train escalator at MARTA’s Five Points Station Monday afternoon, maybe a dozen or so passengers gathered round to watch or listen or take videos. Atlanta transit riders can expect more moments worth stopping for – be it music, dance, painting or other art – as the transit system kicks off a reinvigorated arts program.
