MARTA May Increase Fares (Atlanta: rent, house, sales tax)

[tikigod311]

It is already too high. Bring it down to $2. I find it hard to justify a ride on MARTA when I have more than one person traveling with me. A car is almost always cheaper in that situation.

[mattee01]

So stupid...it's more convienent to take the bus in Charlotte than Atlanta and cheaper too. That's the reason I can say I have never even once set foot on a MARTA bus and have rarely gotten on the train (only got on it somewhat regularly when I actually lived pretty close by to it so I could walk). If this happens they can expect to be even further in debt because if I ever do take MARTA, it'll be when I'm skipping fares.

It just would make so much more sense to me if instead of increasing fares and cutting services to instead cut down on your payroll, which has been shown to be the biggest expense. Get the wages in order (especially amongst upper management), then commit to heavy PR to hopefully get Clayton County to approve MARTA funding and start adding service instead of decreasing it. Then commit to getting Gwinnett and Cobb involved so that it can be a regional option instead of a local/semi-regional one at best. Then demand that Georgia start funding it like they did the other little transit organizations since doing anything with the roads is pretty much not going to get us anywhere...

Or you can just expect fewer riders and/or more fare evasion

[ATLTJL]

This is the reason suburban counties generally don't want MARTA. Not because they don't want transit, but because they don't want to be taxed to fund $27 per hour janitors with paid benefits and pensions.

I can't wait until Gwinnett forms its own rail authority. It will outclass MARTA in every metric.

[arjay57]

If the fares go up to $2.75 that will be about the end of my MARTA riding.

[AcidSnake]

MARTA needs to find a way to work with Atlanta to get more money from the Feds.

The state will never cooperate.

Never.

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

This is the reason suburban counties generally don't want MARTA. Not because they don't want transit, but because they don't want to be taxed to fund $27 per hour janitors with paid benefits and pensions.

I can't wait until Gwinnett forms its own rail authority. It will outclass MARTA in every metric.

Maybe if some of us could get the connections there, paying 2.75 wont be so bad

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by AcidSnake

MARTA needs to find a way to work with Atlanta to get more money from the Feds.

The state will never cooperate.

Never.

You're right, it wont start happening until the people outside of the immediate city start electing someone with two bits of sense who cares about more than race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, roads, and the rebel flag

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by AcidSnake

The state will never cooperate.

Never.

The state has already given MARTA the power to levy a 1% sales tax in all of Fulton and DeKalb counties, and that applies to everyone, not just the people who live there. That generates hundreds of millions of dollars every year. In addition the state sometimes provides direct grants to MARTA. The state has also given MARTA the power to condemn land, and MARTA has used that to acquire vast real estate holdings. Many generate rent and some are allowed to lie fallow. The state has also given MARTA the authority to issue bonds and to enter into leasebacks and other complex financial deals. It has also given MARTA the authority to accept and disburse billions in federal grants.

A recent independent audit confirmed that MARTA is bloated with huge amounts of unnecessary expenses, pensions and employee benefits, outdated business practices and management.

Unless and until MARTA gets its house in shape, I don't see how it can go to Georgia taxpayers and ask for more money.

If I were among the 8 million Georgians who live outside of Fulton and DeKalb counties I'm not sure I would favor sending any more of my money to MARTA.

[mattee01]

Originally Posted by arjay57

The state has already given MARTA the power to levy a 1% sales tax in all of Fulton and DeKalb counties, and that applies to everyone, not just the people who live there. That generates hundreds of millions of dollars every year. In addition the state sometimes provides direct grants to MARTA. The state has also given MARTA the power to condemn land, and MARTA has used that to acquire vast real estate holdings. Many generate rent and some are allowed to lie fallow. The state has also given MARTA the authority to issue bonds and to enter into leasebacks and other complex financial deals. It has also given MARTA the authority to accept and disburse billions in federal grants.

A recent independent audit confirmed that MARTA is bloated with huge amounts of unnecessary expenses, pensions and employee benefits, outdated business practices and management.

Unless and until MARTA gets its house in shape, I don't see how it can go to Georgia taxpayers and ask for more money.

If I were among the 8 million Georgians who live outside of Fulton and DeKalb counties I'm not sure I would favor sending any more of my money to MARTA.

You have a very good point here too, but the thing is, for good reasons or bad or whatever Georgia still doesn't give them the same care it does the other little transit companies. Maybe they don't think they deserve it until they get their house in order? Idk, but I personally feel that their motives lie elsewhere and they'd sooner use their inappropriate spending as a cover for their true motives than it being the actual reason. I feel if they were truely concerned they would go ahead and dissolve MARTA as it currently is and start anew. Get rid of all these high dollar CEO jobs, lavish benefits and pensions, etc etc and get a payroll that is reasonable and then add together state supported money like the other agencies have. Take the cuts that have been put out and add in that extra money and we could perhaps see a MARTA that runs 24/7 (which I thought naturally that it was when I visited here a few years ago), have shorter wait times, quicker service, more routes, and perhaps finally more rail stations (I always thought they should add like a SOUTH BUCKHEAD station or something to be closer to Brookhaven Amtrak or whatevers in that area)

[GeorgiatoChina]

Originally Posted by mattee01

If this happens they can expect to be even further in debt because if I ever do take MARTA, it'll be when I'm skipping fares.


Or you can just expect fewer riders and/or more fare evasion

So if its too high steal it?