Hearings for public comment on proposed bus route and service changes are being held Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. at MARTA’s headquarters on Piedmont Road in Atlanta and Maloof Auditorium on Commerce Street in Decatur.
MARTA’s HQ is at Lindbergh Station and Maloof Auditorium is one block west of Decatur Station.
Proposed changes to MARTA’s bus routes and schedules would leave a two-and-a-half-mile stretch of Peachtree Street with no bus service 13 hours a day.
Under the current service change proposal Route 110 would no longer run between Arts Center Station and Five Points Station before 9:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m. For the rest of the day, the route would alternate shortened and full-length service. Every other bus would travel the full route from Five Points Station to Lenox Station and alternating buses would run only between Lenox Station and Arts Center Station.
Route 6, which now runs between Lindbergh Center Station and Inman Park/Reynoldstown Station, would be similarly altered. On weekdays the bus would run alternating trips between Lindbergh Station and the Emory Village roundabout at North Decatur Road and Oxford Road, and between Lindbergh and Inman Park. On weekends all trips would run the full length of the route between Lindbergh and Inman Park.
Changes put forward for other routes are equally novel. Modifications to be implemented on Route 86 read almost like a joke: “Realign services to operate a short turn alignment from GRTA Panola Road Park and Ride Lot to the I-20 Access Road and Old Hillandale Drive on all service days during the hours that the Mall at Stonecrest is closed.” Now riders won’t only have to figure out bus schedules that change every other run, they’ll also need to memorize a mall’s hours.
The agency is planning to modify a total of 10 of its routes beginning April 20 and will hold hearings at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 22 and Thursday, Jan. 24 to field comments from the public.
News of the service changes coincides with MARTA CEO Keith Parker’s announcement Friday that riders might also see a fare increase of up to 25 cents next fiscal year.
Former MARTA CEO Beverly Scott told Maria Saporta in a 2011 interview that the transit agency hadn’t resorted to attempts at “just cutting our way out” of financial problems. But even under new leadership it appears that no one has a better idea yet.
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Isn’t talking about taking the bus just THE BEST? Er, no. Our latest post looks at the urban impact of a lack of public transport culture.
From the article:
“ The sense of community is a critical part of building transit ridership, almost as important as the service itself. If people feel their choice of transportation isolates them from their peers, they will go out of their way to avoid it. On the other hand, a strong perception of community around a mode of transportation will actually draw users in.”
People in Atlanta joke that complaining about traffic or your commute is the surest, easiest way to get a conversation going with a stranger. Talking about something that happened while you were on or waiting for a city bus, on the other hand, is an almost certain recipe for silence and uncomprehending blinks. If the people you’re talking to are older than 25, and they realize that you’re not talking about a commuter bus, it’s pretty well guaranteed.
(Source: thisbigcity)
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First ride on one of the buses newly equipped with security cameras.
The cameras might alleviate some anxiety for people who sometimes feel unsafe using transit. But others, like the man who, noticing the monitor, said “They have cameras on this bus? What is that for?” might feel like they’re the targets of the surveillance rather than the beneficiaries.
Via Human Transit: An ad for BRT service from Danish transit agency Midttrafik
Ha! Talk about “choice riders.”
(Source: youtube.com)
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Navigating Roundabouts: A Concept That Continues To Perplex Middle America
The #6 bus passes through two roundabouts on North Decatur Road on the way to Emory from Inman Park Station. Watching the mixture of experienced and inexperienced drivers navigating them, one gets the feeling that some people think the object is to shoot in, around, and out as quickly as possible, as if they’re on a game show. Others seem unsure about exactly who they’re supposed to yield to and for how long.
Having previously gone through them on the bus did make the first time attempting it on a bike feel a lot less death-defying, though.
