More MARTA Atlanta Program Paves the Way for Increased Connectivity and Economic Development The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Board of Directors has unanimously approved the sequencing of the transit projects in the More MARTA Atlanta program. This partnership between MARTA and the City of Atlanta kicks off the largest investment in public transit […]
Tag: MARTA
Posted inLatest News
MARTA board OKs spending plan for new light rail, rapid bus
Now MARTA shifts to zooming in on each individual project: turning those thick lines on maps into detailed designs of where exactly to lay a rail, where to build a bus lane, where to set up stations and stops.
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A conversation with Keith Parker President and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia.
By King Williams Keith Parker is the current President and CEO of Goodwill of North Georgia. He is also known to many in Atlanta as the former CEO of MARTA, who for five years oversaw one of the greatest turnarounds in the organization’s history. Parker is a long-time industry veteran who has worked in transit […]
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Atlanta shouldn’t settle for mediocre ‘More MARTA’ plan
The proposed investment priorities of More MARTA in the city of Atlanta feels as though we’re coming up short.In gauging the response of the proposed priorities and timeline of the More MARTA plan, it appears few are satisfied or comfortable with the plan as it stands.
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Some Atlanta new rapid bus projects expected by 2025; new light rail will take a while
MARTA has come up with a draft calendar of when it’ll spend some new tax money on a list of major light rail construction, rapid bus routes, station works and other improvements.
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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
Gwinnett leaders still dreaming of more transit
Despite the MARTA referendum loss in Gwinnett County on March 19, county and transportation leaders stand firm on the need to bring transit to Georgia’s second largest county.
“Regardless of the way the vote went in March, there is so much need for transit and mobility relief in Gwinnett,” said Charlotte Nash, chair of the Gwinnett County Commission.
Posted inThought Leader, Transit
MARTA TEAMS WITH ATLANTA REGIONAL COMMISSION TO STUDY RIDERSHIP
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is partnering with the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) to conduct surveys on system ridership. ARC contractors will board buses and trains this spring and again in the fall to study customer usage. The survey personnel will be wearing blue vests (as shown in the flyer) and a badge […]
Posted inThought Leader, Transit
MARTA Earns Prestigious Asset Management Certification
ISO 55000 Positions Authority as World-Class Agency Ready for Expansion The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has achieved the prestigious International Standard for Asset Management ISO 55000 Certification, joining the ranks of London Underground and Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT) as a global transport leader in asset management. “This certification further establishes MARTA […]
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MAGA, abortion and transit
By King Williams en·mi·ty /ˈenmədē/ noun the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something. Earlier this week we saw the defeat of mass transit expansion in Gwinnett to start the week. And by the end of the week, we saw one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the […]
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Hyperloops on Trump agenda as Gwinnett digests MARTA referendum results
As MARTA and its advocates in Gwinnett County look beyond the unofficial negative transit vote Tuesday, the Trump administration is looking forward to a transportation future replete with innovations including hyperloops and autonomous vehicles – albeit with no details about how to pay for it or the nation’s existing infrastructure needs.
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Gwinnett leaders at “victory” party – watching MARTA vote returns
An influential group of Gwinnett leaders and transit supporters showed up for a victory party in downtown Lawrenceville at the Slow Pour Brewing Co. SaportaReport will regularly update the results and reaction as the votes come in.
Posted inThought Leader, Transit
MARTA SHOWCASES BENEFITS OF PUBLIC TRANSIT AHEAD OF GWINNETT COUNTY VOTE
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is prepared to expand if voters in Gwinnett County choose to join the system in a referendum vote on Tuesday, March 19. Gwinnett County already benefits from limited bus service, but with its population expected to double in 20 years, it may prove insufficient for moving a large […]
Posted inColumns
The future of Metro Atlanta transit is pending on Gwinnett County
By King Williams Gwinnett County, the soon-to-be-largest county in Georgia by population, is the state’s most diverse county – representing a microcosm of what the future of American politics and economic development could look like. Gwinnett currently is a majority-minority county, meaning that no racial or ethnic group dominates its population. Gwinnett’s county-level leadership on […]
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Regional leaders looking for ripple effect from Gwinnett’s MARTA vote
“We don’t need to give people the idea that there is going to be a magical next chance,” said Gwinnett County Commission Chair Charlotte Nash.
Posted inColumns
Officially or not, MARTA and Gwinnett have a long history
When I worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal back the mid-‘70s, I would rise before dawn to catch a MARTA bus at the corner of North Decatur Road and Scott Boulevard, along with a crowd of commuters who drove every day from Lilburn and Lawrenceville, parked in the North DeKalb Mall lot and made the second leg of their commute by public transit. I recall those days to make the point that however the referendum turns out March 19, commuters from Gwinnett County have been riding MARTA for a long time, and over the years, forking over a share of the sales taxes that support it at Atlanta lunch counters and stores.
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MARTA manager sentenced for role in fraud prosecuted Justice Department
The sentencing in federal court this week of a former MARTA department administrator brings to a close a scheme in which two top transit officials and an associate defrauded MARTA of more than $500,000.
Posted inColumns
MARTA seeks to improve wait times at bus stops with new shelters, amenities
MARTA bus riders and postal couriers may as well share the same unofficial creed, since both endure the elements – “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night….” A ray of sunshine is rising for MARTA riders.
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Fulton County mayors seeking consensus for transit plans
The Fulton County Commission and mayors within the county are considering asking voters for a .2 percent sales tax for transit projects either this November or in 2020.
The 0.2 percent sales tax is expected to generate about $1.2 billion over 30 years.
Posted inThought Leader, Transit
MARTA ARTS ADMINISTRATOR RECOGNIZED FOR HER WORK AS AN ARTIST CHAMPION
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Arts Administrator Katherine Dirga will be recognized this spring by C4 Atlanta for her work bringing artists and their art to public spaces around Atlanta. Dirga currently heads up MARTA’s Artbound, an art-in-transit program comprised of permanent and temporary visual artworks as well as live music, theater, and dance […]
