MARTA Shortens Morning Rush Hour Trains on East/West Line
Decatur Metro | December 2, 2013A couple of weeks back, Bryan sent in a note saying that during the November he had noticed that morning rush hour trains out of East Lake Station were “so crammed with passengers…that several people had great difficulty holding on, boarding and unboarding.”
He wrote an email to MARTA inquiring as to what was up and was told that data analysis has shown a decline in ridership and that the East/West line no longer required 8-car trains during the morning commute. As such they had moved to sending out 4, 6-car trains each hour. You can read the full letter HERE.
We contacted our friends at Decaturish about this development and they were good enough to follow up with MARTA to see if they had comment about this car reduction. MARTA told Decaturish that this new plan would be in place for the foreseeable future, but that they would “continue to monitor ridership and make adjustments, as needed”.
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It would be most interesting to know what this change saves them in energy, maintenance, and staffing costs. It’s not apparent to me that it would be a significant savings—not like, say, cutting flight service, overbooking flights, and cramming an extra row into coach do. If there’s a continuing dialogue with MARTA over these changes, perhaps the question can be asked.
Even more interesting would be the data on the north-south lines. No drop off in ridership there? I find it hard to believe that the decline in ridership at rush hour is confined to the east-west line. Maybe Decaturish could follow up with a request for all of the data.
Have they been running 8 car trains North-South? Remember that, between the Airport and Lindbergh, service frequencies are doubled.
I wonder if, in their analysis, MARTA takes into account the nature of the ridership on the east-west line as compared to the north-south? On the north-south, there are several stations that serve as points of departure, meaning you may have to stand for a bit, but you can eventually get a seat. On the east-west line, almost everyone is going to Five Points (and some for GA State); no one is getting off at the other stations during rush hour, so seats don’t open up.
No. Trains on the Red and Gold lines (formerly North/South) are six cars except for some special events.
The morning commute on the east-west line is completely packed. MARTA really needs to bring back the 10 minute frequency or at least run the Bankhead/Edgewood/Candler Park green line out to Indian Creek. They should also follow their new “Ride with Respect” motto and not pack people in the trains so tightly that they can’t get through the crowds to get off the train.
I used to just love my commute on MARTA when I worked Downtown. No need for a car, no parking hassles, seamless exercise, contact with sights and people out walking, etc. I’m sad to see that the frequency of trains has decreased and the crowding has increased. Unfortunately, MARTA is living down to its bad reputation even though it didn’t used to deserve that rep. I understand the political and financial realities that have forced MARTA into a downward spiral, but it’s sad. MARTA has been one of my favorite parts of living in Decatur.
I haven’t noticed that much difference on the east-west line in terms of number of riders. As for frequency, I read somewhere that they were considering increasing frequency during rush hour, but that may have been for the north-south line only.
It’s regrettable that the service has declined. Unfortunately, not surprising given the financial squeeze. Did you know that there is only one major metropolitan area where the transit system receives Zero state funds? That would be MARTA and Atlanta.
Right. MARTA is a cesspool and we shouldn’t fund it. Geez, I wonder how other large cities have managed to help fund their systems, create good ones and overall make things better? Well, that’s too hard, so screw it. As a native, MARTA has been marginalized from its beginnings. In Georgia, the only time public tax money is seen as a good thing is when the politicians see a way to make money for wealthy friends. The folks I work with in Gwinnett tell me all the time, “work in Decatur if you want public transit.” This is their reply to my amazement at the lack of connection to northern Gwinnett with transit from Atlanta. They are also usually denting the doors of my mini with their honking SUVs. Folks, I actually think that there are private/public relationships that can work for the business world and the public good.
I work downtown ATL, and have taken MARTA for 12+ years. I can drive in a fraction of the time it takes me to take MARTA, but nevertheless, I have taken it because it is the right thing to do AND, it is usable time when I can get a seat. I don’t love it and I don’t dislike it. I’m from NYC, and to me MARTA is what it is. Starting a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a shorter train, and I have not been able to find a seat. I understand it is not the LIRR, but, the rationale of a ‘longer ride but usable time’ is now gone. I am going to start driving again. I think the decision to shorten the train, penny wise and pound foolish. I’m back on Dekalb Ave.
What about parking Downtown? Back when the trains were more frequent and I knew the schedule, I found that I could get home on MARTA faster than I could walk to parking and get out of the parking deck.
The thing that’s the killer about getting home in the evening, is that connection at Five Points. If I miss the connection, I could literally drive home in the time it takes for the next train to come. For many reasons, the system is horribly inefficient. I’ve commuted on the cable cars in San Francisco with more reliability.
It’s a shame. The system was imperfect but quite doable a few years ago. We lose a lot when we lose mass transit in ways that many folks only realize in retrospect. When I was a little girl visiting my grandmother, she couldn’t drive but we could walk to the end of her street, take a bus to the train station, and then take the train into New York City. She shopped in New York regularly. The bus service went away, the train came more infrequently, and she learned to drive. She never went to New York where she couldn’t have handled Manhattan traffic (who could?) or afford the parking. So she drove gingerly to the local discount mall with its huge, usually empty parking lot ahd shopped there unhappily. New York lost her business and she lost New York.
There’s a great ad hoc piece in the AJC this past weekend explaining how the transportation problem in Atlanta is farther-reaching that we know. Only 22% of jobs in the region are accessible within 90 minutes by public transit. For people without a car, they’re virtually locked out of getting to a job in another part of the region. We’ve also got “food deserts” which I had to Google. It’s truly a shame that mass transit is viewed so negatively here by so many.
There were some studies published in 2012, I believe, calling the rather amorphous and subjective concept of food deserts into serious question.
This isn’t scientific evidence but I have lived, worked, and driven through many a fresh food desert. Places where there’s only quick stop shops for 30 miles or more in every direction, the kind that might have some overripe bananas, wilted lettuce, and underripe tomatoes as the entire fresh produce section, if that. And a 30 mile drive gets you a fairly small grocery store with limited selection, not a Kroger’s, Publix, Whole Foods, farmer’s market. No lattes either.
With all the geomapping around, I’m sure this has been plotted out. I think I’ve even seen it somewhere.
Yes, the Five Points connection can really lengthen the commute. I’m fortunate that I can get off at Georgia State, but my wife has to change trains to go to Peachtree Center. Her hours are somewhat flexible though, so she can leave a bit after the morning and evening rush hours. Things go a lot better if you have that flexibility, whether you’re in a car or on MARTA.
Something to keep in mind is that there are a lot of college students on the train this time of year. That will inevitably decline somewhat after this first semester ends.
Driving as far as Candler Park cuts down on wait time, since you can catch the short train if you miss the Indian Creek at 5Pts. Sort of defeats the purpose of using mass transit, but still avoids having to drive/park downtown.
Well, that explains why I had to stand today on the way in to Five Points, for literally the first time. The ride home’s going to be interesting!
I’m with you. I get from door to desk faster and more reliably driving on DeKalb Ave than by taking MARTA, but I stuck with them for the usable time factor. But eventually I just couldn’t justify it any longer. Parking and gas cost me about half as much as a monthly MARTA pass.
Sad our investments in public transportation are a tiny fraction of what we invest in automobile infrastructure. And any improvement projects have completion dates decades into the future.
I’ve reached out to MARTA to get some additional information on behalf of some of the readers who commented here.
I emailed the whole thread to MARTA.
Thank you
The Southbound trains on the weekends are always standing room only and when there’s a game or something going on it’s miserably packed to the point of people not even being able to board at Ptree Center by the time it hits that station. I started taking the 36 bus to avoid that but it broke down twice and once just never showed up. Over the summer I decided I just didn’t have the time or patience to deal with MARTA anymore.
Dan, can you ask them if they have any plans to deal with people going from car to car selling junk on the trains? It’s the same people every single day. It creates a safety hazard, not to mention selling bootleg DVDs for $1 is a crime. The fact they are able to get away with this and do it so blatantly tells me something about MARTA’s security
Security? I’m not a regular rider but when I do ride I only see them up near the turnstiles. Can’t remember if I have ever seen one actually in a subway car.
I’ve seen plenty of security on cars, but then again I almost always ride at rush hour. Friends of mine who take the train later at night have complained about not feeling safe.
I know Marta is a sacred cow to many here in the People’s Republic of Decatur, but where are the Grammar Nazi’s? That letter from Marta is a dumpster fire – emblematic of the entire system.
Since TeeRuss brought up the grammar Nazis, it seemed like a good time to point out that the plural of Nazi is Nazis, not Nazi’s. The latter would be the possessive form.
That’s the spirit!
Since my last conversation on grammar went downhill thanks to someone who’s very proud of their real name, I think people have become somewhat gun-shy.
Now I’m wondering if there should be a dash between “gun” and “shy.” And is that an n-dash or an m-dash? And can I begin a sentence with “and?”
Oh hell, somebody please just pop a cap in my noggin and put me out of my misery.
We cannot go around killing off people who express themselves as well as you do, grammatically speaking. Who knows–Marta might offer you a job in their communications department. It might not be too much work to improve on sentences like Mr. Woods gave us: “If anyone there are any questions please let me know.”
Don’t you get it? Grammar errors only underscore Marta’s dire, chronic, unconscionable underfunding. Fork over some more taxes, and they’ll write better letters.
T Russ, you seem to always have a say here in the republic of…. Go to North Georgia. When you disagree with them , they will be happy to call you names and maybe block you from the local Walmart.
Marta, as an organization, is a cess pool. Too many employees, underfunded pension system, and basically too much waste. I’m glad the state doesn’t fund it. Marta needs to clean it’s’ own house and start over. It’s only going to continue to go downhill until someone takes control.