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For 30 years, MARTA CEO Beverly Scott knew little about Atlanta aside from what she saw out of a hotel lobby on Peachtree Road. Today, as a resident, she’s blown away by the neighborhoods.

“They’re all over!” she said today after addressing politicians, civic leaders and stakeholders at the annual “State of MARTA” luncheon at the Georgia Freight Railroad Depot next to Underground Atlanta. “I go to this coffee shop on Edgewood [Javaology], my church is right there on Boulevard, and I love it.”

The only problem, of course, is getting to all these gems.

Since Scott took the helm of Atlanta’s underfunded and beleaguered transit agency, she’s been the recipient of glowing praise for her ability to speak directly and not walk on egg shells about what changes need to be made. That was on display today.

“To put it bluntly, increased transit is something we have to stop talking about and start doing,” Scott said during the “State of MARTA” luncheon, adding that the use of rails and buses would help ease many of the problems that plague Atlanta. Think traffic. Think air quality.

Add the environment to that. Scott has been thinking lately about climate change. She’s read up on it, studied it, and as she told the audience, is frightened by not only the phenomenon itself, but also our role in it. “The consequences of global warming come much from how we act and how we move. Walking, biking and public transit are related to changing that equation.”

MARTA, she said, has lessened the impact of daily travel by removing 185,000 cars from the region’s roads every day. Clean fuels used by the agency’s bus fleet lessen amounts of carbon dioxide and pollutants in the air. She said improvements must be made to streetscapes and sidewalks — a comment that drew applause from the audience — because “everyone coming to transit is a pedestrian first.”

In terms of service, Scott said, all numbers — revenues, ridership, customer satisfaction, etc. — are up. The other statistics Scott dropped on the audience weren’t necessarily new — the dire stories they tell of the region, however, seem to shock less than they ought. What’s frightening is an audience that doesn’t take the consequences to heart. For example, the metro Atlanta region was the fourth fastest growing area in the nation last year and our traffic was some of the most congested. Yet the local and state purse keepers dole out little to aid public transit. Citing a MARTA-commissioned study called “A Tale of Three Cities,” Scott gives the rundown of Atlanta, Washington and San Francisco. All three were “born” in the ’70s. The other two city examples have expanded their service — Atlanta hasn’t.

And for Georgia — one of the six states that are poised to receive 60 percent of the estimated 150 million new souls in the next 22 years who will call themselves American — that means providing solid, dependable and safe service to residents of the state’s economic engine.

“We need to build a system of first choice,” she said. “And not a system of last resort. Let’s build a public-transit system that we will use. That you will use.”

Money needs to be invested in infrastructure and maintaining what MARTA already has, she said, as well as going into new routes and services. The transit agency has been deemed the transit backbone of Atlanta by DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham and such transit experts as Georgia Tech’s Mike Dobbins and Mike Meyer. Scott today called it an “enabler,” as it provides the means for hundreds of thousands of people to get to work or other locations daily. It’s vital, she said, and part of a delicate balance that helped give Atlanta an edge all these years and keeps it apace.

But what if it’s business as usual and the transit agency falters? “As goes Atlanta, so does in many aspects, the state of Georgia,” she says.

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Tags: Beverly-Scott, MARTA, transportation.