Tag: MARTA
Meet the MARTA bus operator who has been driving for 50 years
Each of MARTA’s 1,500-odd bus drivers has a unique badge number. The lower the number, the higher a driver’s seniority; a new recruit might be assigned, say, Badge #1480. That makes Coy Dumas Jr., Badge #1—who just celebrated 50 years behind the wheel—something of a transportation sensation.
Ask Atlanta: Who trains the MARTA bus drivers?
The next time you watch a MARTA bus driver make a squeaky-tight turn with ease, you can thank Howard Harris, who teaches novices to navigate Atlanta’s labyrinthine streets.
For this arts project, a vintage MARTA car becomes a performance stage
In the coming months, the NEXT Movement will begin airing a video series featuring brand-new works from five acclaimed local artists, each filmed in a decommissioned vintage MARTA car. Think of NPR's Tiny Desk series, but on MARTA.
My day using MARTA Reach, aka the local Uber of public transit
Like the vast majority of Atlantans, I don’t live in walking distance to a MARTA train, a useability issue that transit experts refer to as the “first-mile/last-mile problem.” To address that problem, MARTA has piloted a creative solution: an on-demand rideshare system dubbed MARTA Reach. Similar to Uber or Lyft, the service takes passengers on short distances around town, generally from a stop near their house to a MARTA station or bus stop. I decided to test out the system's pilot program to see how it works.
Where—and how—Atlantans want to live now
The pandemic changed everything. We've never thought more about how and where we want to live—and how we can make room for everyone. What are the options now in metro Atlanta?
What’s next for Atlanta Civic Center?
The Atlanta Housing Authority, which purchased the sprawling facility from the city in 2017, has outlined a plan to preserve and update the historic auditorium, while transforming the surrounding complex into a mix of affordable and market-rate housing, retail, and shared public space.
MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker has died at age 55
MARTA announced Saturday morning that its General Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker has died at age 55.
MARTA has 400 buses that carry roughly 500,000 people every week. The transit agency wants to know how to carry more.
Should MARTA buses come more frequently or should they serve more people? The agency hopes to answer these questions to make a more robust system.
60 Voices: Sam Massell and Andre Dickens on city government
During his term as Atlanta mayor from 1970 to 1974, the city’s first Jewish mayor, Sam Massell, oversaw the campaign to create MARTA; began construction of the Omni, the city’s first enclosed sports coliseum; increased contracting opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses; and appointed the first woman member of the Atlanta City Council. Since defeating a three-term incumbent to join the Atlanta City Council in 2013, Andre Dickens has become one of the legislative body’s most vocal champions of affordable housing, transit improvement, and equity.
Will the pandemic ruin MARTA’s plans for its biggest expansion in decades?
The Covid-19 pandemic has been catastrophic for public-transit agencies across the nation. Even when the pandemic does end, it’s possible that our work and travel patterns will be disrupted permanently. Then, there’s the economic impact of the pandemic and its corresponding effect on tax revenue, a major source of funding for many transit agencies, including MARTA.
