Passengers on MARTA’s budget
The end of a temporary state exemption means Atlanta’s rail and bus agency has to once again operate under spending requirements.
A top MARTA official says the requirements will force the agency to make undesirable decisions. Meanwhile, some passengers want the agency to increase services.
This year’s state legislature ended without lawmakers passing a bill that would have extended MARTA’s financial flexibility. A state law says MARTA has to take half of the revenue it gets from sales taxes and spend it on operations and the other half on maintenance and capital projects. That law has been on hold for 3 years. MARTA says that has allowed it to make better decisions. The law would have been on hold for another 3 years, but the bill failed.
Craig Leonardi knows that means MARTA’s in a tough position. But, the AT&T product developer who got off at the Lindbergh station wants the transit agency to expand.
“I’m not exactly sure how they tweak their budget piece. That’s a little bit beyond my depth of knowledge,” said Leonardi. “But, I’ve lived and traveled in a lot of other cities with great public transportation. I love MARTA. I ride it as often as I can. I wish it went more places.”
MARTA riders frequently complain about lack of destinations and price.
“I cannot afford paying $69 every month for the monthly pass,” said Chaitanya Sambhara. “I cannot afford that anymore.”
So what Sambhara does is put $100 on his Breeze card in hopes it will last him for at least 2 months. He rides the train at least 3 times a week including nights. That’s when the Georgia State University doctoral student would like to see more security cameras on trains.
“Especially, in the night time, there is no security on trains and there are people who bother others a lot,” said Sambhara.
MARTA will hear from riders between now and July First. That’s when the agency’s new budget goes into effect.
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