MARTA to lawmakers: ‘Entire’ rail lines could be cut
MARTA is distributing to state lawmakers a memo that raises the possibility that it could cut rail service — “either certain days or times, or entire lines altogether” — if the Legislature doesn’t pass a measure that lets the transit agency direct more of the cash raised by a sales tax toward operations.
The Senate has already passed S.B. 120, which removes all restrictions on the spending of the sales tax. The House has passed a version that would permit MARTA to spend 60 percent. Current law demands MARTA to spend 50 percent for operation, and 50 percent for capital improvements.
The memo makes clear that failure by the House and Senate to reach an agreement would have serious consequences for Atlanta’s business community, and the ‘burbs.
In circumstances like these, extreme scenarios can be interpreted as threats, and threats can backfire. MARTA General Manager Beverly Scott called to say that she was “deadly serious.”
“This is a precious trust that I’m not prepared to play Russian roulette with,” Scott said. More details about what routes might be cut, and what rail service could be curtailed, could come as early as a March 30 meeting of the board, she said.
Download the MARTA memo yourself, here and here. It states, in part:
“Some $5 million in annual savings are being considered which consists of furloughs, salary reductions, and health care cost containment starting in FY 2010….
“The MARTA board of directors will also most likely recommend fare increases and additional parking fees for FY 2010….However, these aids are not large enough to offset the significant shortfall MARTA faces.”
But this is the largest consequence that MARTA is painting (the bold portion is as it appears in the memo):
“Without new revenue sources from the state or region…MARTA will be forced to dramatically reduce service levels, eliminating bus routes, cutting rail service (either certain days or times, or entire lines altogether), and potentially seriously impacting the overall economic well-being of this region and state.
“More than half (54%) of MARTA’s approximately 516,000 daily rides involve commuting to and from work, with another 10 percent using the system for school purposes and 10 percent for medical needs. With Atlanta already in economic crisis, we cannot afford to jeopardize essential access to employment centers, educational institutions or medical providers.”
Repeal of the sales tax restrictions would give MARTA an extra $65 million in flexibility, and help it close current shortfall. “This is not a permanent funding solution — but rather a one-time ‘self-help’ assistance measure that still requires a permanent, state-based funding solution,” the memo closes.
In an interesting opinion piece today, former Atlanta mayor Sam Massell gives a history of restrictions on the MARTA sales tax:
As mayor of Atlanta in 1971, I and many others wanted a system of free ridership on MARTA. Our issue was mobility — and we wanted it for as many people as desired it.
But there were powerful forces in the Legislature — most notably then-Lt. Gov. Lester Maddox — who wanted anything but a free transit system. Lt. Gov. Maddox thought it ought to cost at least 25 cents to ride MARTA. If ridership was free, he believed, the system would be overrun with “winos,” as the homeless were called.
Maddox had a way to ensure there would be no free ride on MARTA: Simply deny the system a huge chunk of its sales tax revenues for operations. In a 1971 amendment to the Georgia Sales Tax Law authorizing a tax levy for transit in metro Atlanta, Maddox insisted that half the sales tax revenue be set aside for capital expenses, forcing MARTA to make up the operations shortfall at the fare box.
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207 comments Add your comment
MartaMan
March 17th, 2009
6:17 pm
These phony threats to shut down marta are BS—this is just another attempt to get more taxpayer millions to fund this incompetent bunch of morons who run this system. They should all be fired and replaced with people with half a brain who could make better decisions about transportation than this group. The ATL train system is absolutely the worst in the nation. What a total joke!
Phil
March 17th, 2009
6:24 pm
And your brilliant suggestion would be?
Marta
March 17th, 2009
6:25 pm
MARTA is a joke. The system is not very well designed or managed. If there is such a shortfall, stop going to the taxpayers . . . go to the riders and raise rates – those who use it should fund it! The only time MARTA is ever busy is when an event is in town or a Braves game. For the system to EVER be viable or even profitable it must have “busy” daily traffic!
And, NO, WE DO NOT WANT IT IN GWINNETT . . .
Houckster
March 17th, 2009
6:30 pm
I’ll bet neither MartaMan nor Marta has ever ridden the system. It works very well the vast majority of the time. The comments by these two clueless individuals are the real jokes.
Dark Knight
March 17th, 2009
6:32 pm
@MartaMan
Tax payer millions?????? Excuse me, but if you had half a brain yourself you would know that MARTA gets the least amount of state and federal funds/help out of all of the subway systems in the country, and trust me that’s a deliberate effort by Sonny and the rest of the good ol’ boys downtown under the gold dome. CTA in Chicago, Metro in DC, MTA in New York, BART in the Bay area and others all get large amounts of state and or federal funds, in fact the METRO in DC is funded fully by the US Government. So lets do more research on the problem before we make blanket statments such as the one above.
concerned gwinnett
March 17th, 2009
6:32 pm
What a bunch of Beauracracy crap!!!! Who cares. The best way to save the waste is to scrap the entire system. Why continue to subsidize the few riders with any bail out. The congress just bailed out the crap deals on the leased rail cars and now this. Let’s just raise tax on private car sales some more…notice how the AJC is not posting articles or opening blogs on that Trauma Center(grady) bailout. These politicians are horrible. Enough
Michael
March 17th, 2009
6:35 pm
The winos would no longer be homeless if it were free. Moving shelters!
abbie
March 17th, 2009
6:40 pm
Marta is one of the largest transit systems with the least amount of state funding. A thriving transit system would benefit the environment and everyone in the metro area but it can’t be done on a shoestring. The State legislature needs to “get on board”.
Dark Knight
March 17th, 2009
6:41 pm
@MartaMan
One more thing genius, the only tax payer dollars that go to support MARTA are paid by residents of Dekalb and Fulton, of which you probably live in neither one. All you yokels who complain about MARTA and live in Cobb, Gwinnett, and other places please STHU!!!!! Also maybe the problems lie in the fact that the good ol’ boys at the state capitol time and time again try to “stick it to” MARTA in not providing any funds. Once again MARTA is the 9th largest Transit system in the country, 6th in daily ridership and yet it is the only one in the county not to receive state level funding. Dont get a two county 1% sales tax confused with a state wide sales tax, because thats not the case. The MARTA situation is just another example of how my home state has one foot in the 21st century and the other stuck one stuck in the 20th century
Edw3rd
March 17th, 2009
6:43 pm
Why is it always a demand for more resources without any information about performance of what exists? How about MARTA disclosing things like route utilization rates? Customer satisfaction scores?
Dark Knight
March 17th, 2009
6:44 pm
@concerned gwinnett
A few riders??? WOW do you people actually do any research your selves or do you just go off of what other people tell you????? MARTA has the 6th largest daily ridership in the country, and thats with all the problems!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you imagine how Atlanta would/could be with a transit system like the one in DC???? Oh Im sorry your probably an inbred yokel who has never left the state!!!!
dgroy
March 17th, 2009
6:44 pm
Yeah, there’s those damn lying Atlanta Newspapers (and I use that term loosely) trying to blame Lester again. Get rid of all the imcompetents at MARTA starting at the top and replace them with good business people. This should have been done long ago but, Atlanta politics got in the way.
Brain
March 17th, 2009
6:49 pm
This is why Atlanta sucks and will always suck. On one side, you have a bunch of 70 IQ rednecks in the ‘burbs bemoaning anything that might benefit someone other than themselves. On the other hand, you have a corrupt bureaucracy run – still – by the Maynard Jackson machine.
Martaboy from Gwinnett, I don’t ever ride on your roads. I’m tired of paying for them. Gwinnett is a cesspool about to be overrun by the illegal immigrants you so fear, anyway…..How ’bout you pay to drive on every road upon which you place your 3/4 ton Chivvy? That’s fair, right?
Brain
March 17th, 2009
6:52 pm
dgroy, you mean like the ones running AIG? Citi? GM? Goldman Sachs? SunTrust?
While I’m a STRONG supporter of the privatization of pretty much anything that can be in this state, the field of “good business people” isn’t exactly vast. Furthermore, one has to pretty much assume that anything privatized would go in a no-bid contract to ShirleyGirlfriend’s inept cronies anyway.
ATLien
March 17th, 2009
6:53 pm
While the economy is bad and it’s not their fault, MARTA has been crafting their own financial crisis for some time now. How many months have we heard “the sky is falling” from MARTA? The earliest I could fine was an AJC article dated March 12, 2008 (12 months ago). Despite the recognition that there were problems ahead, it’s clear MARTA had no intention to cut costs. Otherwise, over the past year they would have at least made some limited cuts in service. When you’re speeding towards a brick wall, you take your foot off the pedal, right? Cutting staff positions that were unfilled just isn’t going to get the job done.
Secondsun
March 17th, 2009
6:54 pm
For MARTA to get what it needs, the rail system needs to be expanded, it has to be 24/7, the trains need to run at least twice as often, and the fares need to go up.
johnatl
March 17th, 2009
6:55 pm
Marta – YOU are the one that’s a joke. Do you realize that over 295,000 people ride the trains every day? And if you think all of these folks have no other way to get around, you would be sadly mistaken. Perhaps you should check it out sometime. Plenty of “suits” are packed in. I can’t imagine what our traffic would be like without it. You obviously have absolutely NO idea of what you are talking about. And guess what? MARTA, or some form of it, will be in Gwinnett soon regardless of your ignorant attitude. Who elected you to speak for 700,000 of your neighbors? I’m sure you have “issues,” since it sounds like you are regurgitating “sound bites” from Rush or Sean. Deal with the fact that you live in a major metro, or move to freaking Montana.
Brain
March 17th, 2009
6:57 pm
Dark Knight, you give your home state too much credit. We have on foot in the 19th and a toe in the 20th century. I’d like some examples of 21st Century thinking in GA? The only thing keeping the state from collapsing into it’s own metaphorical sinkhole is the fact that it’s cheap, the weather’s great and the food rocks. Every single major economic boom over the last 25 years has bypassed GA……High Tech/.com …… Atlanta ranked about 150 on the list of “who’s who” there. Biotech? Sit down. Protein Genomics? Nanotech? “New Energy”? Please!
But, when your best schools would rank at or below the state average in most other states and you’re governed by a combination of fat retard rednecks and crooked black politicians constantly on the take, I guess you can’t expect much?
saltyd
March 17th, 2009
6:59 pm
Check out the average salaries plus overtime, tack on overpaid administration & bonuses, then add on benefits that no private business could stay in business with….revenue & ridership will never be enough……
Patrick
March 17th, 2009
7:00 pm
I would say that I would like drastic changes with MARTA. Currently, I would agree that the service is quite poor. So in a sense, I agree with MartaMan and Marta. And to answer Phil’s question, I think the answer to re-focus who the most profitable customer base would be or should be. In my opinion, that is the business commuter.
I believe that MARTA should use the funds for capital projects to build nicer (i.e cleaner and safer/well lit) satellite bus stations that strategically feed into MARTA rail services. They should shut down about half of the stops on the South line past Five Points as the rider/customer base just seems too low to warrant the cost of rail service. Let me use the bus service to feed them into another rail station. This would also make service to the airport faster. Hopefully, with more strategically place satellite bus stations in North Atlanta (and the rest of Atlanta) that can be clean and safe, MARTA could actually increase riders/customers, take cars of the road, and be profitable. I enjoy the convenience of MARTA to the airport, but the rest (including the bus service) is just plain poor service.
Why
March 17th, 2009
7:01 pm
Why have they never built a spur to Turner Field, tons of revenue for each event, and only needs to be there for those events n????
Patrick
March 17th, 2009
7:05 pm
Edw3rd:
You fail at internets.
http://www.itsmarta.com/about/annualreport/default.aspx
Why
March 17th, 2009
7:07 pm
johnatl, We do not want him in Montana that is why I live here now!!
Patrick
March 17th, 2009
7:10 pm
Oh and Brain:
Last time I checked my beloved Tech is in the top 10 of too many US News & Reports ‘best college’ categories to count, but I’ll bite on everything else you said.
THWG.
Just a Young Guy riding the Bus
March 17th, 2009
7:12 pm
I dont want the services of MARTA to be cut at all my family uses all the modes of transportation and we have a working car. I use the bus and train to get to school. My mom use the bus and train to get to work and my brother uses the paratransit and the MARTA mobility to get to doctor appointments that he has at least 5 times a month. If MARTA is cut we will be out of luck and thats not good. Please dont cut nothing for MARTA
johnc22
March 17th, 2009
7:16 pm
Let them fail. MARTA is already a failure as far as a mass transit system goes. It does not serve the “masses” only the few who live and work near it and those who are so poor as to have no other choice.
UGA Patrick
March 17th, 2009
7:18 pm
Not to get confused with the other Patrick posting at 7:05 and 7:10, I posted at 7:00 and will change to UGA Patrick, since other is a Bee. Can’t believe we share similar views on MARTA.
Derek
March 17th, 2009
7:21 pm
These are hard times, The STATE should not be in the business of funding a system for ATLANTA that BLEEDS money! (The same for GRADY by the way). If you can’t turn a profit and need everyone else in the “Burbs” and the rest of the state to fund transportation for those who are too lazy to find their own way to work, or grocery store or liquor store, Club, Strip-Joint.etc; Then abolish the system and let a private company run it for profit. Except for a very FEW routes, buses and trains for most of the day are EMPTY. This is just another CASH COW for jobs, like the airport, to buy votes for the Atlanta City!
Brain
March 17th, 2009
7:23 pm
Patrick,
I was referring to public high schools. Check , for example, where Walton’s average SAT score would rank against just about any other state average for SAT outside the South. It’s appalling.
Walton = 1636. Colorado average (entire state) = 1576. Pretty effing pathetic.
Brain
March 17th, 2009
7:25 pm
Derek,
While I agree that Grady needs better leadership, do you even understand what you are saying? It’s so rife with inaccuracy and hyperbole that it makes it hard to rebut.
Patrick
March 17th, 2009
7:25 pm
Plenty of us “Bees” are MARTA fans…its alot easier and infinitely cheaper to get here that way. That will change after these cuts though.
ATL Indy
March 17th, 2009
7:26 pm
I no longer live in Atlanta but I can tell you that living now in a city that claims it is a major city but does have the type of system that Marta is makes me miss it so much. Take it away and you will miss it dearly. Make critical comments all you want but if you couldn’t take it to the airport or take it the stadiums for when there are events you will miss it dearly. What makes Atlanta such a great city and a desirable city to live in is the options that it does have with mass transit. Once again move somewhere that doesn’t have it or has it but not to the extent of Marta and you will appreciate it.
Pompano
March 17th, 2009
7:29 pm
Marta is already the world’s largest mobile homeless shelter….
the dude
March 17th, 2009
7:30 pm
I ride MARTA everyday to work and occassionally ride the bus as well. I’ve done so for 3 years now. Not quite sure about the comments about how MARTA is a joke or that it sucks. For the most part, I find MARTA stays on schedule and is reliable….even the busses. Then again I’ve only taken MARTA around 1,000 times so maybe I dont have as much experience with MARTA then the people that say it sucks so bad.
Patrick
March 17th, 2009
7:33 pm
Derek:
I couldnt agree w/you more! Its high time we rolled out tolls on all the state’s interstate highways so the portion of construction and maintenance not covered by the gasoline tax can be paid by the users of the freeway and not all the taxpayers of the local jurisdictions in which the freeway runs. Level the playing field right?
doc01
March 17th, 2009
7:34 pm
OK to get back to the real issue…MARTA is not asking for MORE money, they’re asking to be able to use their money where its needed. Doesn’t do any good to use 50% of your money to buy buildings and buses if the other 50% isn’t enough to operate and maintain those buildings and buses. That’s like saying you’re not allowed to buy groceries or gas with half of your paycheck…but you can use it to buy a new flat screen TV. No business can thrive with these kinds of restrictions.
Katie
March 17th, 2009
7:41 pm
Enter your comments here
Whoa
March 17th, 2009
7:43 pm
Entire lines to be cut? How about the “Bankhead” line, which runs straight to a project? Only 54% use MARTA for work, 10% each for school and medical needs…my math says that equals 74% of ridership. What about the other 26%? Oh, winos. They paid their fare last week, and have been sleeping/selling candy on the train ever since.
If they are using 50% for Capital Improvements, then why do we ride on rail cars that were bought for the Olympics- 13 years ago??
Help me out here, folks.
Patrick
March 17th, 2009
7:43 pm
Well doc01, it seems a real easy way for state legislators to get political kudos from their constituents back in Coffee & Bacon counties is to kick Atlanta’s teeth to the curb. Unfortunately the idiots that run Atlanta (I’m talking to you Shirley Franklin and Rob Hunter) do us no favors. The house balking on the senate’s MARTA sales tax split bill plays into that strategy.
Katie
March 17th, 2009
7:47 pm
Oops – sorry about that first comment.
All I wanted to say is that I am an Atlantan who rides MARTA to work every day. I would be heartbroken if it was shut down. I really enjoy reading on my ride to work rather than stressing out in traffic. I will also agree with what others have said – that ALL types ride MARTA and that you should try it before you knock it.
Danny
March 17th, 2009
7:50 pm
Was it not MARTA who had record ridership just 8 months ago, and a profit of $30 million in recent years?!
crawdaddy
March 17th, 2009
8:03 pm
Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta
kjphotog
March 17th, 2009
8:10 pm
the same knuckleheads that don’t want a successful transit system are the same idiots that sit in traffic on 75 and 85 for hours everyday. they’re not the brightest bulbs in the lamp now are they? just like you don’t want grady until you need that level one Trauma center not in the burbs, you’ll miss it when it’s gone.
concerned gwinnett
March 17th, 2009
8:16 pm
@DARKHOODLUM – How about you doing some research. Federal Tax Dollars built and support this farce of an operation. That means all taxpayers and not just Fulton and DeKalb. Speaking of which, Fulton and Dekalb are now begging for a Grady Bailout in the form of the car sales tax. What a joke.
kjphotog
March 17th, 2009
8:17 pm
crawdaddy, a perfect example of georgia’s public school thinking. did you come up with that on your own or did your mommy help you?
csquared
March 17th, 2009
8:19 pm
Enter your comments here
csquared
March 17th, 2009
8:23 pm
it’s become obvious that this has always been an issue tinged with racist thinking. we don’t want MARTA in the burbs cause it brings in the criminal element. so let’s see, we’ll build 12 lane highways into our communities. Never have seen anyone stealing a TV getting away on the train, but driving the hooptie down the interstate, yep.
Downtowner, thanks to MARTA
March 17th, 2009
8:25 pm
I cannot drive, so I have used Marta’s bus and train service since I moved here 24 years ago, every day, to get to work downtown, to go shopping, to get to dentist/doctor appointments… everything. I mostly ride the bus, and notice that the other riders usually seem poor, often have many children in tow, or are dressed like they’re going to work (uniforms with their first names embroidered on the front), or are students going to school. It’s clear that like me most of the bus riders don’t have any other mode of transportation. I am over 65. It really seems to me that our society has some obligation to assist its poorer and older citizens. Marta is essential to so many of us getting around. Please, state legislators–help Marta to serve its poorer and older riders who have no other way of travel.
Lestor Maddox
March 17th, 2009
8:27 pm
Sam, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… You’re a bald faced liar!
UGA Patrick
March 17th, 2009
8:30 pm
It’s usually best to ignore folks that bring race up as an issue, but I must say that crawdaddy’s comments only reflect poorly on himself. Really? The last time I heard that, I think I was in the 4th grade back in the 80’s. Come everyone – get back to the issues. How about making some real opinions based on experience and adding thoughts about how to improve MARTA.
Back when I used to live in Stone Mountain, I liked being able to take MARTA into the city for work. The only downside was the summer months. I just felt like the buses and trains were never properly air conditioned. When I take it to the airport or the Dome, I still feel like it’s an issue, but since I live in town, the ride is not as long to the airport as it used to be. Anyone else have an issue with the temperature on MARTA in the summer. It really is the tipping point which makes me drive sometimes.
Cindy
March 17th, 2009
8:32 pm
Marta is like a lot of other government programs and is being mismanaged. I am really tired of people yelling for money when they cant spend what they have wisely. Go look into the management and leadership of Marta and you might be surprised. There is a problem here and its not money.
csquared
March 17th, 2009
8:37 pm
since we’re getting back to the issue at hand, what’s with the group of “experts” under the gold dome that believe they’re qualified in everything from running mass transit systems to genetics? only a bunch of folks from the hills would keep an antiquated funding process in place for MARTA. There are those that understand that the economic region composed of the Metro Atlanta area primes the entire state economy. Nice to think that other areas play a part, but as Atlanta goes, so goes Georgia. and the realization of that is galling on legislators from other areas of the state, so they do as little as they can.
Jeff
March 17th, 2009
8:38 pm
I am a Native North Georgian now living in South GA who also spent time living in Warner Robins and downtown Atlanta.
MARTA has never been convenient to me, though I DID use it from time to time when going to downtown to avoid parking/parking-related traffic issues. (I lived north of ATL on 75, meaning the closest rail station was Lindbergh and you had to cut from I-75 via West Paces Ferry through Buckhead to get there.)
And that is my main point here: ATL is not geographically suited for transit to be effective. There is no mass concentration of either origins or destinations.
HOWEVER, I supported this measure on SWGA Politics, and I stand by that. I see no reason for some arbitrary ruling on how much money must be spent in what area of financing.
Just don’t ask the STATE to pay for something that 99% of the STATE barely knows exists, much less actually uses.
If Fulton/Dekalb/whoever else in Metro Atlanta want to tax themselves to solve their problem, more power to them and raise the tax as much as the populace THERE will allow.
Just don’t ask the people of Cuthbert (or even Waleska) to pay for things that only affect ATLANTA.
atlld
March 17th, 2009
8:39 pm
I ride marta trains every so often, and I have never had a problem with them. Yes, I wish the trains went more places, but they don’t. The system is definitely poorly run (some stations are creepy, and some employees look right out of the homeless shelter, and I can never understand them when they make announcements) but I pay, get on, ride, get off. It could be made better easily. It’s probably very inefficiently run, just like most government systems, but that isn’t a reason to scrap it.
As far as the comment about the trains being empty, they always seem pretty busy when I ride them. Sometimes they are packed. The buses are another story. I often see empty buses driving around.
If they can’t make it on the money they have (maybe a small fare hike would be ok too), then perhaps the head of Marta should be fired and replaced with someone who will do better.
Michael
March 17th, 2009
8:44 pm
I use to love to ride MARTA. Great to get around the city but I would not give more more cent to MARTA until they clean up what they have now. They need guards on every train to inforce the rules that are totally ignored all the time. Loud music, foul language, eating/drinking, begging, I can go on. This is not something that has happened just since the economy went down. If you cannot be respectful of the rules then I don’t need to keep paying for you to ride. Live by the rules like everyone else or find your own way!!!
Roundman 1963
March 17th, 2009
8:51 pm
Could one of you “Marta Riders” tell me something . Why should the taxpayers from all over Georgia help pay for you to ride to your job???. We don’t get tax payer money to put gas in our cars to go to work. Same thing — it just more of the old “gimmy somthing for nothing” . If you don’t like the traffic — move – man – move. You “Atlanta Boys” have it all & still want more. If you want to ride man –put your money up or walk on — you know “walking ain’t crowded” !!! If Mr. Lester Maddox had not put the fee at a quarter to start with it would have been a rolling homeless.
Marta longtimer
March 17th, 2009
8:53 pm
Interesting that people want to cut the one thing that doesn’t eat up the transportation budget and provides the most bang for the buck? It costs more to operate the free – not user fares – public road system. Since the highway trust funds don’t have enough money I think everyone who drives should be charged per mile to use public roads. IF you think about it, though, you spend $500 per month to feed and care for your car. What happens when it breaks down? You are stuck unless you have a spare car or bum a ride.
Now you can see how ignorant I am. Since 1992 I have not owned a car and used MARTA during that time. Not only do I get a $500 savings account or charitable contribution from not using a car but I have a great physique since I have to walk or bike in addition to riding the train. Before you gripe about for my road use please remember that all the taxes (sales, income and property) do pay for road use as well as the gasoline taxes paid by the companies who transport the goods to the stores.
MARTA is not perfect, nor is the DOT. 15 years of my career was spent running private freight and passenger nationwide transportation systems and I couldn’t get a job at MARTA which I was qualified to do. I personally know there are some issues that could easily be resolved in the operations field using private sector practices, but let us focus on what is going good at MARTA.
But whining like my four year old won’t fix any problems.
Roundman 1963
March 17th, 2009
9:02 pm
doc01 @ 7:34 — You need to read the news — Like hell – Marta is not asking for more money!!! Yes – sure they are –READ TODAYS AJC —Wanting to use their money as they see fit — Man you are typical of the riders. You ought to be on the City Council — maybe even Mayor.
David
March 17th, 2009
9:02 pm
Ah… the usual outpouring of Atlanta hate and total inaccuracies (downright lies?) regarding MARTA and the city in general– the most galling?– hard to say but probably that guy from Hahira or some such place– demanding that he not have to fund anything in Atlanta– hey buddy the last time I looked metro Atlanta not only had 55% of the state’s population but supplies about 2/3 to 3/4 of its tax revenue– so who exactly is funding who?– without Atlanta this state is Mississippi– which sadly is ‘just about fine’ for some… As for me — there is no place else in this state or region that I would want to live BUT the City of Atlanta…
Jose
March 17th, 2009
9:10 pm
Well, I’ve tried taking MARTA many times so I can say I’ve at least given them a chance. I mean, hey, I love the smell of urine and riding in rail cars with no A/C in the morning. By the time I drove to the station and waited for the train I could have already been AT work. And hell, ever tried taking the bus? The things stop every 5 feet – what’s up with THAT? Are people so lazy they can’t walk to the bus stop down the street??? I forget who we’re talking about here – the same ones we’re bailing out of mortgages they can’t afford and who couldn’t get out of New Orleans when a hurricane was coming. But somehow had the ability to pack the National Mall on inauguration day like it was a Popeye’s and KFC free-for-all. Don’t worry though, ya’ll, PrezBO gonna bail MARTA out too cause they’re just as inept as everyone else we’ve given money to. You just wait and see.
Eric
March 17th, 2009
9:15 pm
Whatever is decided about fare increases, the biggest mistake would be to charge for parking. I can’t think of a better reason NOT to take MARTA if that happens. Why would you penalize people for using mass transit if that is the direction you want most commuters to take? Who cares whether someone lives in/outside the perimeter–the train is meant to serve the public. period.
george
March 17th, 2009
9:21 pm
@Whoa
MARTA just completed a complete rebuild of all of the first and second generation rail cars. The rebuild basically stripped the car to the shell and seats and replaced nearly everything else. The rebuild saved $400+ million dollars over buying new cars. That’s a pretty good business decision in my book.
@Patrick
Shutting down select rail stations South of Five Points really doesn’t make a lot of sense. The ridership at those stations exceeds the ridership at several stations in ‘nicer’ neighborhoods. For example, Brookhaven and Medical Center traditionally have a lower ridership than any station on the on the south line except for Garnett.
ATL4life
March 17th, 2009
9:21 pm
As an Atlanta native and a person who grew up riding the system, MARTA was important to me then in providing a vehicle to improve as a person. As a young man living in the inner city with no vehicle for my family, it was important for me and my family to have viable transportation to get to and from. Now as an adult, I do not live in the inner city, but I still have family and friends that do and none of them are looking to pack a flat screen over their backs from the burbs, but need an option to improve themselves individually. MARTA provides that opportunity. I encourage those negative thinkers about MARTA to review the original formulation of the system and the fore fathers intent on five counties supporting the services. It is terrible that today only two of those counties and the city of Atlanta contribute to MARTA. My income has improved, your income has probably improved. Most of us have upgraded the car we bought in our life times 3 times over. Why? improvements in our economical situations and advancements in technology. The 1% sales tax MARTA instituted over thirty years ago is still in effect. What since does that make? The laws of inflation say this system theoretically speaking was not supposed properly and is stuck in 1974 thinking. Grow up Georgia, you lose MARTA, you lose major convention and event dollars that the city of Atlanta generates to attract people to the mecca of the south. You lose that dollar for Atlanta, you lose that dollar three times for the state. Atlanta is the money maker for Georgia – lets not forget that. Look at systems like BART & Washington, we all started together but they grew and we didnt. Both have over 100 stations to our 38. Wake up, they are funded by their states – wake-up. They have the same type burbs as we do, crime is everywhere, it does not take a bus or a train for it to find your neigborhood – wake-up, grow-up, its time for Georgia to pay up…
Oh to be in charge
March 17th, 2009
9:22 pm
MARTA does not provide mass transit to the (growing) outlying suburbs. If it did, there would be no issue. I’m certainly not going to spend an hour in traffic on 75 if I can sit there on a train, letting someone else do the driving, then walk to work from the station.
It is insane that it is so limited. For those that think it’s a method for criminals to get to the ‘burbs, yes it is. So is 285.
Until cars and gasoline become more realistically priced, then cars will be the winner. It’s not that public transport is too expensive, it’s that cheap cars and gas make it a non starter.
Oh, and for donuts that complain that Atlanta should pay for its own, not the state at large, wouldn’t that also apply to the busiest airport in the world?
Reid in EAV
March 17th, 2009
9:28 pm
In terms of infrastructure, we get what we choose to subsidize. MARTA limps along day to day, week to week, year to year because it is systematically starved of funds and saddled with restrictions to boot. Given its constraints, I’m amazed it works as well as it does for half a million riders a day.
Meanwhile, we spare no expense subsidizing driving and anything related to driving in this city and state (if you think your gas taxes come close to covering all the costs, you’re dreaming.) All this dirties our air and increases our dependence on foreign oil, where, the evidence shows, production may never be able to increase from its current level (while China, India and other emerging economies demand a greater share of the pie.) How is this a smart allocation of our resources?
That we are content to let MARTA die on the vine is absolutely infuriating. (I don’t doubt the memo at all — MARTA’s been in a death-spiral for years due to its revenue restrictions. That’d be the case, sooner or later, no matter how competent or incompetent the management.) And let’s be clear, you don’t have to ride MARTA to benefit from it. Every time you drive down a freeway corridor into the city, you benefit from all the riders on the rails and buses rather than in cars blocking your way. Do the math, and half a million daily trips means only one thing: if MARTA service goes away, your traffic will go from nightmare to sadistic prison-torture, with no end in sight.
Be careful what you wish for.
Astraea
March 17th, 2009
9:34 pm
Someone needs to do remedial math with these Gwinnettians. Half a million people every single day is not “a few riders,” my love. That is about 1/8 of the metro area population. We’re not talking about a few bums. And why should Gwinnett get to decide for the rest of us again? I missed that part.
concerned gwinnett
March 17th, 2009
9:35 pm
Tax dollars have already paid for the roads so I am suree as heck not going to pay again to drive over them. Mass Transit is a failure. It is heavily subsidized from AMTRAC to MARTA. Shut it down.
concerned gwinnett
March 17th, 2009
9:38 pm
@Astraea – 1/2 million is B.S. How many times are you counting the same riders. Fact is the system can not pay for itself and requires federal funding. MARTA is techically bankrupt from the train car financing. It is a joke and a joke of a system. A failure. Time for MARTA to get off the payroll just like GRADY.
george
March 17th, 2009
9:44 pm
@concerned gwinnett
Tax dollars paid for the bulk of MARTA, yet the patrons have pay a fare everyday. By your logic MARTA should be free to ride.
It was 508,000 for both bus and rail. Here’s the link if you don’t believe it.
http://www.apta.com/research/stats/ridership/riderep/documents/08q4rep.pdf
Reid in EAV
March 17th, 2009
9:46 pm
@Jeff: Riddle me this. Why should my tax dollars pay for developmental highways in south Georgia? For that matter, why should metro Atlanta subsidize the rural parts of the state? And yet that’s what happens. Until that situation no longer exists, I will happily go “LA LA LA” whenever some rural Georgian complains about their taxes going to Atlanta.
Reid in EAV
March 17th, 2009
9:48 pm
@ Concerned Gwinnett: So how do you pay for repaving? Pothole repair? All those widenings and extra lanes the politicians love so much? Not so simple, is it?
concerned gwinnett
March 17th, 2009
9:49 pm
@George – get off the plantation way of thinking where everything is privided at the expense of others. If it does not stand on its own then it does not need to be. Now turn that into a free ride.
Reid in EAV
March 17th, 2009
9:54 pm
@concerned gwinnett: Excellent idea! Let’s remove the subsidies from driving. Assuming you have the average-size car, using it the average number of times, that’ll be another $5,000 from you (above your gas taxes; above your car registration and emission; above the cost of your car, gas and maintenance) to make the system “stand on its own.”
Cash or charge?
NW GA
March 17th, 2009
9:57 pm
Although I am a native of North Georgia, I lived in ATL for years and used MARTA on a regular basis not because I had to, but because I wanted to. Yes, we all know the system was stifled from the start beacuse of a lack of participation by Cobb and Gwinnett Counties…that’s old history, but complaining about state funding falls flat. Just take a look at the Governor’s Road Improvement Program (GRIP) that spends a war pension of your gas tax mnoney to 4-lane roads from Trenton to St. Marys-whether or not the traffic volume warrants it or not. It’s all done in the name of “economic development”. If MARTA isn’t important to Atlanta’s economic well-being, then surely 20 miles of empty 4-lane blacktop between Colquitt and Bainbridge is suspect as well.
Try God
March 17th, 2009
9:58 pm
Help out, or not…Ride, or not… or shut up. Quit wining if that’s all that you have to contribute!!!!!
JAMES VANDIVER
March 17th, 2009
10:01 pm
mayby the metro counties or the state should take over operations of marta since it high paid extorionest dont seen to be able to run a simple business
JAMES VANDIVER
March 17th, 2009
10:02 pm
Enter your comments here
concerned gwinnett
March 17th, 2009
10:04 pm
@Reid in EAV – At least it would be my dollars spent on me and not my dollar spent on others.
george
March 17th, 2009
10:04 pm
@concerned gwinnett
Why does providing good mass transit have to be at the expense of others? An effectivemass transit system reduces cars improving commute times for those that need to drive, improves air quality, and is energy efficient. Those are real benefits that everyone receives.
Ever heard of the gas tax? How do you think that roads are maintained? Why do you think a panel just recommended raising the federal gas tax to pay for upkeep of the roads. The current federal road and highway fund cannot support the demand for infrastructure repairs.
Mike
March 17th, 2009
10:19 pm
To all of those who complain that MARTA should turn a profit or sustain itself, let me ask you this. How much of a profit are all of those roads and highways you drive on making? I thought so.
aphrohippi
March 17th, 2009
10:21 pm
I don’t think that MARTA’s leadership will shut down the system or “drastically cut” rail service…As for as some of the folks that express either racist or “MARTA sucks” comments, they’re best ignored. I was reading about NY’s MTA having major money issues to the tune of 1.2B dollars the other day, I’m sure that the MTA would love to have MARTA’s shortfall. I do agree that the system need to be more efficient and better run, they need to bring back the train riding cops. The MARTA sucks/ jobs program/ serves poor people only crowd doesn’t understand that public transit rarely pays for itself, much like roads. Roads are fully funded by government, they don’t turn profits or even make money (outside toll roads), but people rarely get in an uproar about road construction or financing for new roads, because they don’t see the big picture with transit. Traffic in the region would be much worst without public transit. Atlanta wouldn’t be what it is without the public transit infrastructure that was set up thirty years ago. I’ve been a MARTA rider off and on for about twenty years and I’ve had a car for most of those years. MARTA has been very consistent, fares are pretty reasonable, service has been great and I’ve not had any trouble of any kind. Of course, I’ve seen and heard some of the strangest, and sometimes intimidating people, but nothing dangerous. With the digital train arrival signs, breeze cards and online trip planner, MARTA has fully embrace the 21st century.
Reid in EAV
March 17th, 2009
10:24 pm
@concerned gwinnett: So you agree that the our roadway infrastructure doesn’t stand on its own? Doesn’t that erase your argument that only things that are self-supporting should be allowed to exist?
Honestly, have you ever run the numbers? From your arguments, I find it hard to believe that you have.
And for the record and for what it’s worth, while I’m pro-city and pro-transit — and a city dweller myself — I’m also a lifelong conservative who voted for Bob Barr in the last presidential election. And trust me, I understand where you’re coming from — I was that way in terms of infrastructure until I did more research and realized that there is NO mode of transportation, once all costs are all in, that actually pays for itself. Nature of the beast, I suppose.
Now, I’m not terrifically thrilled with the politicians who run Atlanta and with some of the ways MARTA has been managed, but the problem of resource allocation is far larger than that. Since WWII, we’ve abandoned all other modes to subsidize both driving and spread-out sprawl, and we’ve reached the endgame of that now — traffic, pollution foreign oil dependence, and a degree of dependence so severe that when gas prices spike you can hear gasps from coast to coast.
Do you know how much public funding (those would be my dollars, too) go into building and maintaining roads and everything associated with them? The interstates themselves were built with 20% federal funds and 80% state funds. That money didn’t come from user fees, and user fees (in the form of gas taxes) still don’t come close to covering the total need.
Michael
March 17th, 2009
10:25 pm
Marta has been taking tax payer money how long? If it doesn’t make money make changes! MARTA IT’S NOT SMARTA!!!!
scott
March 17th, 2009
10:32 pm
It’s important for MARTA to stay, and I believe it will. I can’t imagine that anyone would actually try to shut it down. What I would like to see is a full scale 5 or 10 year plan for what MARTA could do if it were really allowed to grow. The main problem I have is that MARTA trains are not convenient, and the bus service isn’t much better because of the incessant stops. Many of you have talked about the Metro in DC and the New York system. Those are great because the trains take you everywhere. We’ve got a system wherein the initial planners didn’t even run a spur out toward the stadium, even though we had major league football and baseball teams when it was built (we also had a major league soccer team, but that’s another story). Of how much value to the city and its environment would a line running to the stadium, past Grant Park and the Zoo, and then on to the airport be? Or perhaps the line could run on to East Atlanta and out toward South Dekalb Mall. And that’s just one example. Of course, the other problem is that when the MARTA sales tax referendum failed in three out of the five counties that voted on it, the MARTA executives decided to just go ahead with the project as written, thinking Gwinnett, Clayton, and Cobb would eventually come on board. That hasn’t happened, and probably won’t until some initiative is shown by MARTA. And please, we can dispense with calling those who didn’t vote for the tax racists. What happened 40 years ago has no bearing on the argument today, and is counterproductive. Besides, many of us who opposed that tax then saw the boondoggle that MARTA could become and chose not to be a part of it. If you want to save MARTA don’t call people morons or racists or any other number of names, get some real leadership at the helm, dreamers who can see what the system can be, and people who can get others involved in that dream.
Annie
March 17th, 2009
10:35 pm
I wish they would make it so that Marta went up the 400 to at least exit 14…think of how much money would be collected by the state by having triple the riders, less pollution in the enviroment, lives saved due to accidents and much less traffic on the roads…or should we wait until the greedy AMERICAN oil companies squeeze us again for $5 a gallon gas?
moleman
March 17th, 2009
10:37 pm
MARTA’s management could cut its budget in many ways. For one thing, they spent over 100 million on a new fare system that was supposed to provide security, but now they pay to have people stand at every turnstile. Why? They have bomb sniffing dogs and their own police force. Why? There’s a MARTA police Recreational Vehicle. Why? Why are the MARTA police always found in groups chatting and not walking the trains and getting rid of the homeless and vendors? MARTA has great potential, but the lack of sensible management just gives folks who don’t support it a huge target to shoot at.
Reid in EAV
March 17th, 2009
10:43 pm
@scott: Astute comments. And agreed, name-calling isn’t going to help work through the problems. (I must say, it’s tough not to at least think those kinds of thoughts when folks come on here making racist comments. But yes, best not to feed those trolls.)
As for the convenience of the stations, that has a lot to do with the politics of land use. If you ever ride the East line from Georgia State to Indian Creek, you’ll notice that most of it runs parallel to an existing freight-rail right-of-way. A lot of the Northeast line (roughly Lenox to Doraville) does as well. Neither of these things are accidents — it’s far easier to run transit where right-of-way already exists than to do battle against the NIMBYs for each mile. Ultimately, with the political will not there, let alone such such farsighted thinking as zoning overlays around stations (to encourage walkable development), it was much more expedient to pick the easy way vs. the one that would provide the best service over the long run.
And it’s no accident that MARTA seems to be most used and most loved in dense places where it’s most integrated with the surroundings — downtown, midtown, Buckhead and the airport.
Gagal
March 17th, 2009
10:45 pm
For all of the money poured into the MARTA system, we have the poorest excuse for “rapid” rail that I have ever seen. It takes TWO hours to make a trip to the airport from Tucker which if driven by car takes 25 minutes!!! The bus isn’t on time, the train isn’t on time, the elevators in ALL of the staions smell like urinals, and you never know when the whole system will break down leaving you stranded. They spent a fortune on the new stupid fare gates and Breeze system for who knows what purpose. I have seen many people avoid paying fares still. And it isn’t like there are not systems around the world that MARTA could have modeled themselves after! There is absolutely no way you can get on the tube in England without paying. It is so totally embarassing when I end up on a train with a visitor. Nine times out of ten, they are accosted by a beggar or a drunk. Most times the “billboards” inside the train that announce the next stop do not work. The stops are supposed to be announced over the intercom….NOT! If they ever are, the voice is either too low or too garbled to understand. Welcome to Atlanta! I have complained by no one at MARTA cares to make a correction. The blind riders sued and won because the stops were not announced but that has not made a difference. The stops still are not announced.
Get Real
March 17th, 2009
11:07 pm
If all the people from the ‘high-class’ burbs, please read the article. MARTA doesn’t want an increase in taxes, they just want to be able to put more money they receive towards operations instead of capital improvements. Its the only transit system in the country that doesn’t receive any state funding, just sales tax from Fulton and Dekalb counties.
For all of you complaining, imaging Atlanta without a transit system. You think 285 and the Connector is a parking lot on Friday’s now. What corporations would want to bring their business here? If you suburbans had any sense, you would’ve allowed MARTA to expand to most of the metro area. Crime isn’t an excuse anymore, as the Mexican mafia has just about taken Gwinnett and Cobb over anyway. This city is only going to get more crowded. What are we going to do in 10-15 years?
nathan
March 17th, 2009
11:09 pm
The concept of Marta was formulated in the mid to late ninteen fifities.The idea was that by the time the concept was enacted it would encompass the entire metro area. With only Fulton and Dekalb Counties agreeing to the concept; Marta began and was destined to a series of fare increases over the years due to a lack of expansion. I am a recently retired employee of nearly 29 years of service. I am proud of Marta and the strides that it has made over the years. Marta goes to within a mile of most bordering counties and all one need to do is check the license plates of those bordering counties and count them. Our current Governor has never been a proponent of Marta. Had his support been more vocal; Marta undoubtedly would have gotten more funding during the last several years. Marta’s current CEO has a vision for Marta but she cannot fulfill that vision without viable and sustained funding.If Marta’s rail line service is terminated or reduced in anyway it will have a profound negative impact on the riders that have jobs that get off around midnite. I propose that Marta “does not charge for parking” and increase the visibility of officers on the trains. This will reduce some of the unsavory activities that sometime ocurr on the trains. I hope that the legislatures will use sound wisdom when they make their decisions concerning the financial future of Marta.
M. P.
March 17th, 2009
11:11 pm
Georgia will reap what it sow. If the state of Georgia don’t care to support the transit system of its largest city that brings in cash in the form of tax revenue, then it will get what it is asking for which is a cash starved state like the one it is presently. Georgia has failed to attract new industry and businesses because of backward thinking, and forget about all those carpet mills, peanut plants, and the likes in north and south Georgia because they aren’t coming back. Even North Carolina knows what it takes to bring cash into their state because they support their largest city’s transit system.
say what?
March 17th, 2009
11:49 pm
Marta has money that it cannot use because of the State Legislature and the name calling begins that management is the problem. Ha! The legislators who come in to Atlanta for forty days, and go back to rural GA are the ones who are the ineffective, irresponsible parties to which all of us should focus our dismay. The new MARTA chief is competent and given the chance to play with the “good ole boy” system, she may get something done to the relief of all Georgians. Atlanta goes so goes the rest of the state- don’t believe the media, and never trust the poiticians. Each need your outrage and emotional outburst to stay in business.
Matthew
March 18th, 2009
12:23 am
HEY MARTA THANK BEN DECOSTA AT HARTSFIELD JACKSON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR BANKRUPTING ATLANTA. WHY ON EARTH DO WE NEED A 1 billion dollar PEOPLE MOVER SYSTEM JUST TO TAKE PASSENGERS FROM THE AIR PORT TO THE CAR RENTAL FACILITIES. THAT TO ME IS THE BIGGEST WASTE OF MONEY I HAVE EVRE SEEN. THE ATLANTA AIRPORT HAS SUCKED ATLANTA DRY OF ITS FUNDS. ITS TWO BIG AND THE COST TO RUN THAT BIG ASS AIRPORT DOESNT LEAVE FUNDING LEFT For other needs in ATLANTA. SO ALL YOU GREAT FOLKS THAT RIDE MARTA IF MARTA SHUTS DOWN THERE IS ALWAYS THE NEW PEOPLE MOVER AT HARTSFIELD THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO RIDE FREE OF CHARGE IN NOVEMBER SUCKS THAT IT ONLY TAKES YOU TO THE AIRPORT.
Joe
March 18th, 2009
12:28 am
Shut it down. It would clean up perimeter and buckhood from overflowing with “canadians” who just mull around, waste space and cause trouble. I have to keep moving further out just to feel safe.
Mr. Anderson
March 18th, 2009
1:16 am
Brother Lester had a point about the “winos” back in the day. Lester was from Atlanta and he knew how, given the enforcement, MARTA could easily go bad with free ridership. It’s too bad he didn’t require it to be patrolled by state Patrolmen of the states choosing instead of ridding the “free” concept. Also too bad MARTA was not seen as a regional solution to transportation, like the interstates and 285, instead of being a Dekalb and Fulton thing. Frankly, it being concentrated to DK and Fulton makes MARTA heavily black in most parts of the line and that , again this is frankly, keeps many whites away from a decent service.
Rod
March 18th, 2009
1:23 am
I’m torn here I went to NY over the weekend I rode the train but did not step foot on a bus it was too packed the train system is the best though I don’t like MARTA because it takes 3 hours to go on a 20 minute trip but people who have no car must get around teenagers also use it but if you stay on the bus line crime is prevalent I drive but I’m sympathetic for everyone the system needs to get better time wise anyway if it did ridership would increase happy I don’t have this problem on my hands!
A Recent College Graduate
March 18th, 2009
2:51 am
I rode MARTA throughout my college years (Georgia State University) and then for months afterward while working and if I were in Atlanta now, I would continue to ride MARTA if possible. I have saved a huge amount of money on gas, oil and other car maintenance by not driving. In addition, I don’t have to stress about Atlanta’s psychotic drivers – I can let the drivers do that all I have to worry about is my stop and getting to work on time. I used to read on the train and bus and have never been accosted by any beggars and I have ridden all of MARTA’s line.
Yes, MARTA has issues. I can rant about them. The Brookhaven-Avondale bus I rode to work was and still runs about ten to fifteen minutes late. The system doesn’t go where it needs to go – such as up to Alpharetta, Vinings, to areas east of Stone Mountain, down to Peachtree City, et cetera. That’s because all areas outside of Dekalb and Fulton refuse to have anything to do with it, even though they really need it. If you people who criticize and complain rode MARTA consistently, I can assure you that your opinion would be very different. Yes, the management is downright terrible and I’ve been saying that it needs to be replaced for years. But regardless, if MARTA can’t spend money where it needs to go, such as operations, and is forced to shut down, Atlanta will very quickly become one of the worst places to live. You think traffic is bad now? Imagine the gridlock if all of MARTA’s riders were to be on the roads – yes, cringe. We’d be sitting in traffic for hours on end and possibly have worse traffic than NYC and Los Angeles (and according to some people, we’ve already bypassed them). Smog levels would be on par with China. Without public transportation, you can say goodbye to massive conventions such as Dragon-Con which bring in a huge amount of money to Atlanta hotels and surrounding businesses. We’d probably see more car-jackings since people will have no alternatives for people to get around.
The state government needs to let MARTA divert its money to operations for the sake of the city’s well-being in the future. Should prices go up? Maybe temporarily. But I can assure you that letting MARTA go will destroy the city. To the government: Let MARTA do what it needs to in order to survive!
art
March 18th, 2009
5:56 am
to all of the naysayers, just let it fail, just like your former president let big business self police! You are fools to think that this is a bad system because it needs money. All of the systems around the WORLD are all funded by some sort of public/ group funding, and they for better or worse transport people reliably, efficiently, and uniformly, without regards to class,or race! Keep being crackers…….
bh
March 18th, 2009
7:08 am
Hey Dark Knight 20% of MARTA is funded by the Federal government (http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/martaflyer1.htm), so explain to me again how only folks in Fulton and Dekalb pay for MARTA.
MARTA Insider
March 18th, 2009
7:29 am
Before Beverly Scott cries poor to the public, she’d better be prepared for an independent audit of hew own shop. Since she arrived over a year ago, she has DOUBLED the number of Assistant General Managers beneath her plus added ANOTHER LAYER OF EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT between the, and her. There have been SUBSTANTIAL PROMOTIONS of unqualified staff and a whole new crew of yes-men and yes-women who will not challenge any of her demands. All of these new executive staffers are losers and rejects from other transit agencies who were either fired or on their way to being fired from their previous jobs. The whole place is corrupt and the morale is in the can. The AJC or the state or someone needs to look into this. The hard working staff on the front lines are facing furloughs while these new fat cats bring home $200K a year. There’s easily $5 million in new salaries and benefits between these new positions.