Comments on: AJC: “Some MARTA Cuts Not So Devastating”

By: karass

karass — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:32:08 +0000

And apart from the time and effort investment, especially in the summer heat or in inclement weather, there’s the fact that not everyone can walk a mile, e.g. the elderly or disabled, who disproportionately need the bus. I used to have elderly neighbors who said that they used to go downtown on the bus all the time when the stop was two blocks away but stopped when it required a much farther walk plus a transfer at a train station.

By: atlin83

atlin83 — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 03:44:07 +0000

“So having to walk one mile means an entire neighborhood is “effectively cut off” from bus service? How about if you had to walk one block, is that too much too? I suppose everyone should be entitled to door-to-door service, is that it?”

There’s a pretty big difference between a block and a mile. On Sycamore, for example, the blocks typically are between 600 and 1000 feet (let’s say 800 feet, on average – I measured them, because I’m a little Type A). So with 5,280 feet in a mile, you’re already looking at a difference of 4,480 feet between the original poster’s prior walk and the one you so righteously compared it to. Let’s take this a little further.

So assuming a walk of 4,480 feet, and assuming an average speed of 3 miles per hour (a pretty typical walk speed), that’s 13 more minutes spent walking to the station. On top of the original one block walk that the poster had, which was 2 minutes using the same parameters. So Len’s original walk might have gone from 2 minutes to 15, almost a factor of 8 times as much. It’s not totally cut off from transit service – but it’s significantly harder to access.

Personally, as a transit rider, and one who’s had to walk varying lengths to catch the bus or train, Len’s complaint of increased walk distance seems pretty valid. I think you’re being overly self-righteous or something with your attack on the “door-to-door service” – a mile is a lot more time, energy, and distance than a block and you bely a little bias – not sure if it’s towards Len, towards transit, towards people who live on/near Sycamore and who want to ride the bus, or what – in trying to equate the two. There’s nothing wrong with wanting more convenient transit service.

By: DEM

DEM — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:46:13 +0000

Look for example where both the 125 and the 36 travel down Wynn Way, but no bus goes down Sycamore anymore, effectively cutting off the entire Sycamore neighborhood from bus service.

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So having to walk one mile means an entire neighborhood is “effectively cut off” from bus service? How about if you had to walk one block, is that too much too? I suppose everyone should be entitled to door-to-door service, is that it?

By: Deanne

Deanne — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 03:07:35 +0000

Oh dear…

Decatur Heights neighbors got together in June to brainstorm ideas for improving Sycamore Drive. Peggy Merriss & David Junger (for the City) also attended. Our neighborhood’s focus is very much on getting traffic OFF of our street. For more info on the meeting, there’s a DM post about it, along with several posts on the Decatur Heights blog. ( I’m very sorry if you missed the opportunity to participate. We worked hard to get the word out. )

The MARTA bus route relocation to Winn Way is celebrated by most neighbors. A group of folks worked tirelessly for quite a long time to get it rerouted. I recall attending a neighborhood meeting about it & dutifully writing a letter to MARTA when asked. ( I can also personally attest that the 80+ daily buses that rumbled by houses at 30-35mph indeed left cracks in ceilings. And bounced a few breakables off shelves. And rattled windows while folks were trying to sleep.)

Sounds as though you live near Fortner. There should be a MARTA stop near Dekalb Medical that would help with the 1 mile distance. Maybe there’s a Winn bus stop near the hospital’s back driveway (behind the main parking deck ) that would allow you to cut over to catch a bus. Church St should offer a shorter alternative too.

( I do feel for you. I hope that knowing it wasn’t just one unhappy neighbor that ousted the buses is helpful!)

By: Len

Len — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 01:30:42 +0000

There is inefficiency in the system, but it is not all MARTA’s doing. Look for example where both the 125 and the 36 travel down Wynn Way, but no bus goes down Sycamore anymore, effectively cutting off the entire Sycamore neighborhood from bus service. Why? Someone who lives on Sycamore complained that the bus was noisy and put cracks in the walls of her house. I don’t know how you could prove that is true. But we no longer have a bus and have a mile walk to the train station. Sure, MARTA should have said too bad, don’t live on a busy street. But one squeaky voice, no matter the effect on the rest of us, got the bus removed from our neighborhood. I admit I should have been paying better attention, but I’m going to petition to have the 125 returned to Sycamore.

By: DEM

DEM — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:15:23 +0000

I’m sure that is the reason, even though MARTA hasn’t been all that prosperous even when the economy was great. Also true that maybe these routes were a lot busier in the past, though I would tend to doubt that.

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:10:50 +0000

Probably not a great reason, but I suspect in times of financial prosperity, it’s tempting to let these lines continue to run instead of dealing with the public backlash from folks that do ride these routes. Also, one has to assume that rider levels fluctuate over the years, so we can’t just assume that these routes have always had really low ridership. And how long do you allow a bus route to stick around and hope for a rider increase before pulling the plug?

Or maybe they just dropped the ball on these particular routes. I don’t know. What really would have been good info for that article is what is the procedure for reviewing MARTA bus viability.

By: DEM

DEM — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:05:48 +0000

In such an inefficiently built city, I surely wouldn’t want to be charged with building and maintaining a transit system that could be deemed totally and absolutely “efficient” by those who do such deeming.

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No one is asking for total and absolute efficiency, which of course is impossible even in the best-run private businesses. The article merely identifies a relatively small number of routes that aren’t on the same planet as total efficiency. They’re the complete opposite.

The question is: how much inefficiency do we tolerate in MARTA? Reasonable minds can differ on that, of course. But as to these particular routes, is there really any rational argument that we should be running buses that collect so little in fares, and carry so few passengers?