Comments on: Eye on the Street

By: writerchad

writerchad — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 12:45:22 +0000

Five minutes here. Five minutes there. Certainly I don’t have to explain what it adds up to. In truth, I love riding MARTA for a multitude of reasons. But I love my wife and kids more. And I don’t want to waste an additional 10, 20 or 30 minutes a day because the Gold Dome is so shortsighted.
If the set schedules were more consistent, I could adapt. But as frequent rider, I can assure you disruptions are as common as kudzu. In addition, more lag times will mean more crowded trains. Which turns a 15 minute lag time into a 30 minute lag because there simply isn’t room on a train for one more rider. Furthermore, the trunk segments you mention are one of the most frustrating parts of the system. I’ve wasted cumulative hours watching a Candler Park train leave the station while I await a train that can take me one more stop to East Lake. An extensive system like the MTA in NYC can afford local and express trains. But it doesn’t make sense for a system with extensibly two lines.
You’re right. The new schedule will be manageable. It’s just won’t be worth it.

By: atlin83

atlin83 — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:41:07 +0000

Not to undercut the importance and severity of MARTA’s budget problems and the recently-approved service cuts, but you’re probably overstating the case.

For rush hours, trains will run every 15 minutes on each line. For the Blue Line (through Decatur) and Green Line, it’s every 10 right now; for the Red and Gold lines, it’s every 12. If you live on one of the trunk segments (Airport to Lindbergh, or Ashby to Candler Park), halve that 15 minutes – you’ll have a train every 7 or 8 minutes.

It’s a few more minutes, and it’s not in any way ideal to have less service, but this is still a manageable schedule. And there are set schedules – you can find them on MARTA’s website, or look at upcoming departures on Google, or so on. It’s not good news, but it could be a lot worse – just ask anyone who’s going to have to deal with the bus cuts.

By: writerchad

writerchad — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:36:36 +0000

Twas taken from comfort of an orange MARTA seat. I had my iPhone camera ready to snap just as the train was propelled from the midtown train tunnel. Nonetheless, your genuine concern is genuinely appreciated.

By: PMcG

PMcG — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:11:43 +0000

WHEW! Chad…you’re…you’re alive! It’s a miracle. From the picture I surely thought there was no way someone could have survived on those tracks.

By: writerchad

writerchad — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:22:55 +0000

It’s somewhat of a historical photograph. With even greater lag times between trains, riding MARTA will be a more infrequent commute option for me. Hooray for progress!