New Proposed MARTA Cuts Less Severe; Braves Shuttle Cut
Decatur Metro | May 28, 2010The AJC reports that under the newly proposed MARTA budget cuts – which are less severe thanks to “some improvements in revenue” – 15% of MARTA service will be eliminated instead of 25%. What else? Well…
All station bathrooms will close except for Five Points.
Rail passengers will wait three to five minutes longer, for trains with fewer cars. Weekend commuters will have no more 4:45 a.m. trains. Bus service will no longer be provided on some parts of Ponce de Leon Avenue, Fairburn Road, Donald L. Hollowell Parkway, Pharr Road and scores, if not hundreds, of other roads. Routes like those to Chastain Park, Braves games and the one between North DeKalb Hospital and Emory University will be eliminated. Ride stores are closing at Lindbergh and Lenox stations.
In addition, about 400 of MARTA’s 5,000 employees would lose their jobs.
It also looks like there will be another fare increase at the beginning of October, according to the AJC’s list of “what’s next?” action items.
Huh. I didn’t even know that the stations had bathrooms to begin with.
Yes, and they are always locked, so you have to track down an employee to unlock them.
No bathroom access, therefore, equals fewer employees.
Or you can ride to Five Points. The bathrooms are always open in that station.
Dang, so if you have to pee, you have to ride to 5 points on slower running trains with 4 cars or less. I guess all parents must bring an extra diaper for the kids and themselves.
MARTA is going to become an even bigger embarrassment than it already is. Now when visitors come up from Savannah and south GA and complain how awful traffic and MARTA are, please be the first to let them know the transportation system could be fantastic if it were only state funded like EVERY SINGLE other mass transit system in the nation.
What is an embarrassment is seeing empty buses and stops every two blocks.
I think the other cuts are sound. It costs a lot more to ride the train and take the shuttle downtown to the Braves game as it does to drive and park, especially if you have a big family.
Bathrooms? Well, you need one when there is an emergency. But then if it’s locked … and it’s an emergency .. well, then, it’s a little too late … .I’m just sayin….
True, the bathrooms are locked, however the person that unlocks them provides customer service for the whole station, assist with machine operation (outside and inside,) control foot traffic, provides directions, and various other duties including greeters. They are very helpful. Will they eliminate this service/position as well? I speak to them everytime I ride the train and they are helpful whenever the time is needed.
I agree about the Braves shuttle. Plus, you can walk from the Marta station to the stadium anyway. Not that far. But as for cutting routes that people depend on to get to work, I believe that should be a last resort, after raising fares, eliminating administration positions, etc.
Oh, and why aren’t the Brave paying for the shuttles anyway?
Centennial Olympic Stadium.
That’s a great point Brianc. Why aren’t the Braves chipping in? They’re paying stiffs like Derek Low and Kenshin Kawakami over $22M this year and they can’t chip in to give fans an alternative to getting to the game?
It’s Dekalb Medical Center, not North Dekalb Hospital.
Personally, I love the Braves shuttle–it’s free if you ride Marta, and it drops you off right at the stadium and picks you up there with little or no waiting…and it was air conditioned! I’d have been willing to pay for it…
Shame the Braves Shuttle is being cut – anything to encourage people not to drink and drive
My prediction is the Braves shuttle will not be cut. In my opinion, this is part of a scare tactic by MARTA. It is probably hoping that the popularity of the Braves shuttle will compel its riders, many who probably are not regular transit users, to pressure the politicians who vote on MARTA funding.
This tactic is comparable to the one used by the National Park Service which regularly threatens to shut down one of its most popular attractions, George Washington Monument (D.C.), unless it receives more funding from Congress. This tactic has come to be known as the “Washington Monument Ploy.”
If the goal is to cut non-essential services, I’d say cutting the Braves shuttle is in-line with that, no?
Good news that Hank Johnson has won a seat on the House Transportation Committee. Now maybe Marta will be properly recognized as a valuable transit asset. Let the Washington politicians take a crack at explaining it to the Georgia politicians!
Go Hank! We’re counting on you!