Change regarding MARTA (Atlanta, Alpharetta, Forest Park: credit, buy, maintenance)

[mattee01]

Do you believe that the state of georgia should provide some funding to marta since they provide funding to other public transit systems? If not, do you believe they should get rid of the 50/50 law so that it can be a truely private transit company and spend money however it pleases?

[ATLTJL]

This again?

Before MARTA receives any funding, they need to get their managment straightened out.

The latest debacle? Losing the ability to accept credit and debit cards on one of the busiest weekends in Atlanta: MARTA riders urged to bring cash to avoid vending machine delays | www.ajc.com

[noah]

I don't like the power the states holds over Marta either but I wonder about ths 50/50 split. If it did not exist and they spent much more then 50% on operations, how would maintenance and improvements be paid for. Already they asked for a huge sum (at least $70 million I believe) for deferred maintenance from the TSPLOST and told us that was only a fraction of the deferred maintenance they needed to do. If they don't have enough money with the 50% to cover maintenance now how does lifting the split help the long term viability of the system.

I am sure some of those knowledgeable on these issues here will be able to answer this but its something I've always wondered.

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

This again?

Before MARTA receives any funding, they need to get their managment straightened out.

The latest debacle? Losing the ability to accept credit and debit cards on one of the busiest weekends in Atlanta: MARTA riders urged to bring cash to avoid vending machine delays | www.ajc.com

It probably doesn't help with the way they're forced to budget.

[ATLTJL]

You can't buy your way out of incompetence.

You have to smart your way out of it. Until MARTA starts making good decisions with the budget it does have, it's hard to imagine it receiving anything additional.

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

You can't buy your way out of incompetence.

You have to smart your way out of it. Until MARTA starts making good decisions with the budget it does have, it's hard to imagine it receiving anything additional.

What do the other local transit providers have to prove? Do they even have to break even?

[ATLTJL]

I don't know how other cities run their mass transit.

But here's an interesting point: Repeat after me: The 50/50 split is not MARTA’s real problem | Kyle Wingfield

[MattCW]

MARTA's management is fine. Any bureaucracy, particularly an inter-jurisdictional governmental bureaucracy, is going to have what people call waste and mismanagement. Should we blindly accept it? No. Should we cripple the agency until they can "do right?" NO!!!
MARTA is above the national median on farebox recovery ratio ahead of such cities as Portland, Denver, Dallas, etc. I actually think the 50/50 budget spit is a great idea, but I think the state must also fund the system. In comparison to other systems, MARTA is actually quite far ahead. The rail system, as limited in reach as it is, is better than many other systems, including in my opinion, New York City, Washington D.C. and significantly better than Boston. The trains are very clean, the track areas are very clean, the trains are fast and on-time and the system is safe. I can't comment much on the bus system, but in downtown at least it seems to be clean and reliable as well even if not quite as fast as an automobile between the same two points. If the state would just invest in the system, it would have much greater reach and may be pulling a full one or two million people off the roads. Imagine lines to Norcross, Cumberland, Alpharetta, Forest Park, Union City, Six Flags, Stone Mountain, and Lithonia. Add in a few limited-stop bus routes that go right down a main road (route 121 Kensington to Stone Mountain leaves Memorial Drive, then snakes around E Ponce de Leon), and you've got a world-class transit system for a very competitive international city.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by MattCW

MARTA's management is fine. Any bureaucracy, particularly an inter-jurisdictional governmental bureaucracy, is going to have what people call waste and mismanagement. Should we blindly accept it? No. Should we cripple the agency until they can "do right?" NO!!!
MARTA is above the national median on farebox recovery ratio ahead of such cities as Portland, Denver, Dallas, etc. I actually think the 50/50 budget spit is a great idea, but I think the state must also fund the system. In comparison to other systems, MARTA is actually quite far ahead. The rail system, as limited in reach as it is, is better than many other systems, including in my opinion, New York City, Washington D.C. and significantly better than Boston. The trains are very clean, the track areas are very clean, the trains are fast and on-time and the system is safe. I can't comment much on the bus system, but in downtown at least it seems to be clean and reliable as well even if not quite as fast as an automobile between the same two points. If the state would just invest in the system, it would have much greater reach and may be pulling a full one or two million people off the roads. Imagine lines to Norcross, Cumberland, Alpharetta, Forest Park, Union City, Six Flags, Stone Mountain, and Lithonia. Add in a few limited-stop bus routes that go right down a main road (route 121 Kensington to Stone Mountain leaves Memorial Drive, then snakes around E Ponce de Leon), and you've got a world-class transit system for a very competitive international city.

Excellent post!

[readyset]

Originally Posted by MattCW

MARTA's management is fine. Any bureaucracy, particularly an inter-jurisdictional governmental bureaucracy, is going to have what people call waste and mismanagement. Should we blindly accept it? No. Should we cripple the agency until they can "do right?" NO!!!
MARTA is above the national median on farebox recovery ratio ahead of such cities as Portland, Denver, Dallas, etc. I actually think the 50/50 budget spit is a great idea, but I think the state must also fund the system. In comparison to other systems, MARTA is actually quite far ahead. The rail system, as limited in reach as it is, is better than many other systems, including in my opinion, New York City, Washington D.C. and significantly better than Boston. The trains are very clean, the track areas are very clean, the trains are fast and on-time and the system is safe. I can't comment much on the bus system, but in downtown at least it seems to be clean and reliable as well even if not quite as fast as an automobile between the same two points. If the state would just invest in the system, it would have much greater reach and may be pulling a full one or two million people off the roads. Imagine lines to Norcross, Cumberland, Alpharetta, Forest Park, Union City, Six Flags, Stone Mountain, and Lithonia. Add in a few limited-stop bus routes that go right down a main road (route 121 Kensington to Stone Mountain leaves Memorial Drive, then snakes around E Ponce de Leon), and you've got a world-class transit system for a very competitive international city.

Well said, I wonder if these critics and politicians have spent a day with transit agencies in other cities, let alone read the news about them to call MARTA 'mismanaged'.