MARTA raises fares, parking fees, cuts some bus routes
June 22, 2009 at 5:07 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsIn an effort to balance a budget battered by the dismal economy and restricted by the state goverment, the MARTA board decided today that straphangers will face a higher fare, see parking fees in paid lots increase $1, and lose some bus routes. The 25-cent fare increase, from $1.75 to $2, is the first since 2001 and is scheduled to take effect in October.
Thanks to some money management, the AJC’s Ariel Hart reports, trains will not have to stop at 1 a.m. as MARTA had originally proposed.
State lawmakers who failed to grasp the role MARTA plays in the economy might want to also pay attention to this next graph — or read the 3,000 comments the transit agency says it received during the public input period:
Events organizers wrote MARTA a letter last week asking it to reconsider the rail service cutback. The chief operating officer of the Chick-fil-A Bowl addressed the board before its vote Monday to reiterate the message and let them know the negative impact it would have on events.
So next session, if you lawmakers don’t pass a bill allowing MARTA more control over its finances, well then no football tickets for you!
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Unless one of those 3,000 comments was written by a talking cartoon dog/mouse/duck, I don’t think Generally Narrow-minded Assembly will take notice.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:07 am
How ironic is it that the Chic-Fil-A bowl is trying to keep MARTA running on Sundays?