Friday, August 20, 2010
Transit Metro Atlanta's transit woes, service cuts capture Economist's attention
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 10:00 AM
Whenever I read The Economist's blurbs about issues impacting Atlanta or Georgia, I imagine some diplomat or corporate titan doing the same thing. Only he's on a private jet. And he's tsking. "I shall never move my corporation there," he says.
The cheeky highbrow mag that calls itself a "newspaper" offered a succinct rundown yesterday on MARTA's upcoming budget cuts that include eliminating routes and firing employees.
The article points out some characteristics that have contributed to the transit agency's ongoing woes: no state assistance to operate buses and trains and the metro region's balkanized transit-governance model.
The Atlanta Regional Commission recently formed a regional transit committee — chaired by Mayor Kasim Reed — to study how metro Atlanta's myriad transit systems could possibly work together. But that won't do anything to help MARTA or GRTA anytime soon.
In the meantime, give the piece a read. And think of a diplomat or bigwig on a private plane. Listen. He's tsking! What an ass!
Comments (9)
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In my imagination, not only is the bigwig tsking Atlanta, he's also looking around at his fellow passengers and saying "Oooh -- look at me! I read The Economist!"
I'm glad the Economist write pointed out the #113. That's a pretty cool route that connects West Midtown with the rest of the city in a kinda sloppy but necessary way, given the crappy disjointing of Midtown by the connector. It's sad to lose that route. In a perfect world, it would be expanded rather than eliminated.
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Ha, I actually am a diplomat (a US one), and although not a bigwig I did read this on the DC Metro and tsked away. Being from Atlanta, I'm well acquainted with my home state's myopia in terms of public transportation. First the Braves shuttle and now this? Am I naive in thinking things will get better, eventually?
Funny how the #113 will go away....a nec. line for most of the people on it. I doubt there will be any disruption for the Brookhaven to Airport train route ....wouldn't want to inconvenience those people.
Whenever you here about MARTA, Clayton or GRTA bus woes, you never hear what the true cost of a ticket would be for the system to make enough to stay open. The only options are to close it or get more money from the taxpayers.
What does it really cost per passenger to run that service (cost, not price)? What would the true ticket price have to be? $10, $15? Surely, it could still be done cheaper than a taxi. Did they poll the passengers on those routes and ask them if they would prefer a fare increase to no route at all? Surely, it would still be cheaper than buying, insuring and maintaining a car, even if they raised the rates.
What is so bad about a rate increase? Should we really expect to ride a bus for what it costs to buy a cup of coffee? Should we expect folks in Savannah to pay for citizens in Atlanta to ride a bus to work?
@Team Edward,
Welcome, my diplomat friend. Thank you for your service... and your optimism about transit.
The transit discussion in Georgia has become (arguably always been?) so political. It seems like elected officials discuss everything else except moving people around a large metropolitan area when they sit down to talk about transit.
I think eventually things will improve. But by that point we might have lost out on so many opportunities. And the greatest hope the region has — the 2012 transportation tax vote — isn't even guaranteed. In the meantime, the state needs to have serious discussions about the gas tax. It won't solve the transportation problems but it could help.
@cep Nobody in Savannah is paying for anything up here. If anything its our tax dollars going to them.
As to subsidizing transit well ok when they stop subsidizing car travel via zoning regs that give free parking (Fresh Loaf posted that article, via my county property taxes, and via state taxes then we can talk about ceasing the subsidy for transit or stopping the complaints about the state not providing a subsidy like they do for roads.
@tooexpensivetownhouse not sure its helpful to attack one element of your fellow transit rider when there are far greater threats or reasons for the demise of transit service. All the Rail service whether it be Brookhaven, Northsprings, Hamilton Homes, 5 points or Kennsington runs on the same schedule - a schedule that has also taken hits via longer intervals for trains. True they aren't going to cut train service though while capital costs are higher for rail than bus since we've built the system its probably running now at a lower cost per passenger. But I do agree we need to be wary of the State model of going after just "choice" riders (ugh!) and also looking at keeping unemployment down by making jobs and education accessible via transit. (why do large corporations still locate in areas not accessible to frequent transit service?).
As to the article - regional transit could be better coordinated but that's not really the problem and a regional transit board sure as sht isn't going to do much.
The region isn't trying to make transit viable. We still aren't zoning correctly as random densities appear here and there without rhyme or reason or consideration to how people will get to and from these scattered outposts of added population densities.
The only thing that has saved us from total chaos was the old air quality road freeze and now the lack of funding and GDOT gridlock. The slow down in our rabid addition of road capacity has allowed some free market forces to come in and start building and doing things differently. The managed lane/Lexus Lane system unfortunately offers a huge threat - its great on paper but in the hands of GDOT???? WATCH OUT!
InATL, they aren't paying for us in Savannah NOW, but that is the argument that I always hear, that the State should fund MARTA.
Why should someone living anywhere other than Atlanta help fund the commute of someone living in Atlanta?
The state's dollars are pooled, and by definition, they come from all over the state. If you take a chunk of those dollars away to fund MARTA, then there is a smaller pot to divide among Macon, Augusta, West Point, Savanah, etc., and therefore those communities have less of a benefit at the expense of a commuter in Atlanta.
It sounds like what you are saying is that because politicians took too much money (by proportion to benefits returned) from Atlanta residents for the benefit of others in the state, that it is ok for Atlanta residents to require others to fund their lifestyles. Neither is ethical or morally just.
Your next argument will probably be that gas taxes unfairly subsidize roads. MARTA buses drive on roads, too, remember?
It is easy for MARTA politicians to take away services from people that use them and blame it on the state rather than to charge what it would actually cost and let those riders decide for themselves what it is worth to them. At least then they would have a choice.
Yes the funds are pooled but they know where the funds come from and the State gets more money from metro Atlanta than it spends in Metro Atlanta. So the State giving some of our money back to us for MARTA doesn't mean we are taking money from the rest of the state.
But fine, let the state cut some of the money they put towards roads in DeKalb and Fulton and let us use it for Transit.
Yes I remember MARTA buses ride on roads and we don't need more of them for the buses. Especially since there are less buses now than there was 10 20 or 30 years ago.
Frankly, I think the 113 is terrible. It runs from my front door in Candler Park to Georgia Tech, but I'd much rather take two trains and a shuttle bus because it takes such a roundabout route, runs late, lays over at five points, and runs infrequently.
Most of the route will be covered by other routes after the cuts, but not my section. However, I am terribly sad to see the 45 go - such a great bus.
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