State Sen. John Wiles confuses MARTA with car wash

Georgia Republicans must get a better Gold Dome parking space the harder they slam MARTA.

From a Marietta Daily Journal interview with State Sen. John Wiles, R-Kennesaw:

Wiles does not support expanding Atlanta’s public transportation system, the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, to Cobb County.

Slamming MARTA, Wiles said the transportation system is so inept that “I would not want MARTA to have to wash my car.”

Wiles said his distaste for MARTA stems from serving on the General Assembly’s MARTA oversight committee, where MARTA officials refused to answer such simple questions as how much it costs them per rider.

Nor is Wiles pleased that MARTA employs five drivers who earn more than $100,000. Cobb County’s transit system has the same union contract as MARTA does, but pays its drivers half as much as the Atlanta system. Wiles said it’s a problem of management.

Let it be noted that at a MARTA Oversight Committee hearing earlier this year, Wiles asked transit officials how much it costs the agency to serve each rider. Officials gave him an answer (the estimate given was nearly a dollar higher than the current fare.)

UPDATE: CL has discovered a photo of Wiles’ car.