MARTA in the black, possibly increasing train frequency. (bus, train station)

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by gerrythesnake

In DC they have advertising in the tunnels so when you look out the window you will see advertisements

I thought that was so cool up at the Sandy Springs station. Wish they would do that again.

Not really related, but when they hell are they going to fix the arrival time signs in the stations? It seems that 85% of them are broken and its been that way forever. How does stuff like that happen? They have an IT department. They have a legal department. If the internal IT department set those up, they need to fix them. If they had those contracted out, they need to compel the contractor to fix them. This is simple. FIX THE SIGNS.

Also, fix the broken orange College Park Station sign outside of the College Park MARTA station, it looks terrible and has been that way for way too long.

The organization just sometimes gives off the impression that they don't give a damn. You have companies like Publix and Chickfila where their stores are always well kept and maintained. What about MARTA makes it so that their stations are not well maintained? Its not all budget. My assumption goes to a poor work culture that allows workers who don't give a damn to keep a job.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I bet I'm not. And its things like that that contribute GREATLY to MARTA's negative perception around the metro. I think one of the best things that Mr Parker can do is change the culture of the employees of MARTA. There is no reason to continue on with the status quo there.

[ATLondoner]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

I thought that was so cool up at the Sandy Springs station. Wish they would do that again.

Not really related, but when they hell are they going to fix the arrival time signs in the stations? It seems that 85% of them are broken and its been that way forever. How does stuff like that happen? They have an IT department. They have a legal department. If the internal IT department set those up, they need to fix them. If they had those contracted out, they need to compel the contractor to fix them. This is simple. FIX THE SIGNS.

Also, fix the broken orange College Park Station sign outside of the College Park MARTA station, it looks terrible and has been that way for way too long.

The 'Welcome to Marta' electronic signs do seem like a complete waste of time....have they ever given any other information?

[AnsleyPark]

We complain about MARTA's current somewhat limited scope. Be glad we're not Cincinnati!

Cincinnati Subway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

We complain about MARTA's current somewhat limited scope. Be glad we're not Cincinnati!

Cincinnati Subway - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For sure. Wish they did sanctioned guided tours of stuff like that.

Did anyone check out that tour some group was doing of the gulch area? I was out of town when for the date that was posted, but I would love to check it out next time.

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by ATLondoner

The 'Welcome to Marta' electronic signs do seem like a complete waste of time....have they ever given any other information?

There are signs in every station that are meant to always display the arrival times of trains. They worked for awhile and had times and along with various messages. They were really nice, but they didn't work for very long. Obviously the network is still functional as it works at some stations. It just seems like they stopped working and then weren't maintained.

Its things like this that leads everyone to want to outsource everything. A private business as large as MARTA would never get away with things like this.

[testa50]

I wish they'd install some of the "x minutes until the next train" signs in the ENTRANCE of stations, rather than just on the platforms. I'd like to know if that train I hear approaching is my train or not. Of course, getting all the signs they do have to function is the first logical step.

In fact, why does the app have bus trackers but not train trackers? I know the trains theoretically run on a schedule, but this changes somewhat often. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the bus tracker and use it almost every day, but it's weird that I can see exactly where every bus is but have only a vague idea of where the trains are, which ought to be the easier thing to figure out.

But seriously, if they would run the red line to the airport until 9PM my life would be way easier. I avoid MARTA after 7 because of this.

My service improvement wish list:

- Run the Red Line all the way to the airport until 9PM - Far and away the #1 priority!
- Increase frequencies on all lines to every 15 minutes between 7 and 9PM (it's currently 20 minutes)
- Run the Green Line to Avondale Station (mainly just to get to Downtown Decatur, but you can't turn trains around at Decatur so Avondale works better). Having only 4 trains per hour cripples connections between Decatur and the North-South line. This would benefit a bunch of bus routes too.
- Increase the 110 bus ("The Peach") to 10 minute frequencies between Arts Center and Buckhead. (6 per hour vs the current 4).

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by gerrythesnake

Why not have advertising in the Marta stations? In DC they have advertising in the tunnels so when you look out the window you will see advertisements

i know what you mean— they put "frames" of an advertisement in the tunnel outside the window so when you ride by it's an advertisement in motion. the last time i saw MARTA do that was in about 2000 or 2001, when Dasani bottled water was introduced.

[cqholt]

Its things like this that leads everyone to want to outsource everything. A private business as large as MARTA would never get away with things like this.

That function is outsourced.

I wish they'd install some of the "x minutes until the next train" signs in the ENTRANCE of stations, rather than just on the platforms. I'd like to know if that train I hear approaching is my train or not. Of course, getting all the signs they do have to function is the first logical step.

Like they do at Arts Center, Airport, Lindbergh Center, and Five Points stations.

In fact, why does the app have bus trackers but not train trackers? I know the trains theoretically run on a schedule, but this changes somewhat often. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the bus tracker and use it almost every day, but it's weird that I can see exactly where every bus is but have only a vague idea of where the trains are, which ought to be the easier thing to figure out.

Buses use GPS, easier to translate into data for apps, while trains use Lat/Long as they pass over points on the tracks. MARTA trains are 98% on time, so having the MARTA app will let you know when the next train arrives.

Run the Red Line all the way to the airport until 9PM - Far and away the #1 priority!
MARTA board just voted on this yesterday evening
- Increase frequencies on all lines to every 15 minutes between 7 and 9PM (it's currently 20 minutes)
MARTA board voted to lessen headways to 10 minutes during weekdays until 9pm
- Run the Green Line to Avondale Station (mainly just to get to Downtown Decatur, but you can't turn trains around at Decatur so Avondale works better). Having only 4 trains per hour cripples connections between Decatur and the North-South line. This would benefit a bunch of bus routes too.
If you were to do that, why not go 2 more stations to Indian Creek? By increasing the headways to 10 minutes that will add 2 more trains per hour.
- Increase the 110 bus ("The Peach") to 10 minute frequencies between Arts Center and Buckhead. (6 per hour vs the current 4).
I think this idea and think it should be branded better, act more like BRT with fare machines at covered stops, and dispaly the next arrival of trains. Treat it like the MTA's Select Service. MTA Select Bus Service

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by cqholt

That function is outsourced.

Ok, so why are they not suing the contractor over this? How long have those signs been broken? If I was MARTA I would be very upset and taking immediate corrective action. Broken signs make the system look bad, as a whole. It promotes a negative perception of the organization like everything is falling apart. These are the "little" things that should be fixed and the fact that they aren't lends me to believe that people just don't give a damn at MARTA.

I'm not trying to blame you or attack you in any way CQ, so sorry if this comes off aggressive in any way. You're just the only one that seems to answer some of these questions. I

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

Ok, so why are they not suing the contractor over this? How long have those signs been broken? If I was MARTA I would be very upset and taking immediate corrective action. Broken signs make the system look bad, as a whole. It promotes a negative perception of the organization like everything is falling apart. These are the "little" things that should be fixed and the fact that they aren't lends me to believe that people just don't give a damn at MARTA.

I'm not trying to blame you or attack you in any way CQ, so sorry if this comes off aggressive in any way. You're just the only one that seems to answer some of these questions. I

I completely agree. I hate not knowing when the next arriving train is on the northbound platform of Five Points station. None of them work. But we don't know what is going on behind the scenes. They could be in litigation or the contractor went out of business?