More mass transit cuts for Atlanta

[marmar]

from the ATL Journal-Constitution:




With service cuts going into effect Saturday, MARTA riders -- and their employers -- must come to terms with significant changes in routes and schedules.

-- Many MARTA bus stops -- 2,700 of 11,500 -- are plastered with notices that they will soon serve no buses.

-- Passengers who ride the train before 6 a.m. on weekends have done that for the last time, according to MARTA.

-- Customer service offices, bathrooms, information booths, lost and found and a host of other services on Friday are seeing their last day of longer hours.

Across the metro area, people who depend on MARTA are bracing, as the agency lifts the knife on 10 percent of bus service and 14 percent of rail service. Pass fare increases and the final phase-out of tokens happen at the beginning of October. Of MARTA's 142,000 daily passengers, the agency estimates 14 percent won't be in easy walking distance anymore.

Bethlehem Mekonnen, Joel Gerber and Rodney Poitier don’t know one another, but their lives are changing because of what starts Saturday. Thinking of that day, they and other MARTA patrons hold their heads in their hands, or frown and shrug, or snap. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/marta-cuts-roll-out-620232.html

[Kievan Rus]

1. They're thinking about doing the same thing in Pittsburgh too

Public transit cuts are everywhere. It's extremely foolish and short-sighted. More people driving will simply increase traffic, and not to mention oil consumption...with peak oil approaching, this is about the dumbest thing possible to do.

Peak oil is coming whether people want to face it or not. And the less prepared we are for it, the worse off we'll be. Best case scenario is a deep recession; worst case scenario is Mad Max-style anarchy.

[klook]

2. The MARTA train system is pathetically inadequate for this metro area

Because of racist suburban county commissions, the rail lines were never extended very far outside the Atlanta city limits. And of course the buses have to navigate the same horrendous roadways that car drivers suffer with every day.

And now they're cutting about a fourth of the bus stops, so those who do ride will have to schlep even farther to get to and from the bus.

And today we had another Code Orange smog alert.

Atlanta is literally choking on traffic, yet public transportation is drying up due to neglect and mismanagement.

Given that the Atlanta metro area is the key economic engine for this state, you'd think the state government would step in and allocate emergency funding to keep MARTA alive and functioning at a level needed for public mobility. But much of the rest of the state hates and resents Atlanta in general, and many legislators certainly don't want to do anything to help MARTA riders, because it's largely viewed as a system for Black people.

It's a horrible situation that is going to have long-term consequences, I'm afraid. *Maybe* if Roy Barnes is elected governor, there will be some chance of meaningful leadership on public transportation in Georgia.