Why is MARTA so controversial? (Atlanta: school, maintenance, moving)

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Link?

The newsstand.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

The newsstand.

Absent employees costing MARTA millions | www.myajc.com

[DirkMcGirt]

That is absolutely pathetic. I thought Keith Smart was the savior. Why hasn't he fixed this basic problem yet? Seems like same old poor management from MARTA.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by AnsleyPark

According to today's AJC, 33% of MARTA workers are absent from work each day and the number increases to 50% per day for bus and train drivers.

So the 1% is being used to fund this. No wonder MARTA is controversial.

Fire them, there are plenty of workers who would be glad to have their position, retirement, and benefits.
If AJC is going to publish these rates for MARTA, where are similar rates for CCT, GCT, and GRTA? Publishing these rates for all metro transit agencies would be fair, unbiased journalism, but we are talking about the AJC.
Also, AJC acts as if employees everywhere do not fake calling in sick, as if MARTA is the only company to suffer from it.
I am in no way being a cheerleader for MARTA, if employees refuse to work, then they need to be let go, but the AJC should publish numbers for similar companies for comparison so the people can see how other transit agencies stack up and see if it is MARTA's management or something that is chronic in the industry.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by DirkMcGirt

That is absolutely pathetic. I thought Keith Smart was the savior. Why hasn't he fixed this basic problem yet? Seems like same old poor management from MARTA.

Read the article, they're looking to fix the problem by outsourcing leave management.

[DirkMcGirt]

Originally Posted by cqholt

I am in no way being a cheerleader for MARTA

[DirkMcGirt]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Read the article, they're looking to fix the problem by outsourcing leave management.

What a sad culture within MARTA where the employees behave this way. This toxic culture starts at the top with leadership. And to solve what is obviously a culture problem, they are outsourcing to save a few dollars rather than tackling the root cause. #ManagementFail101

-DMG out

[AfternoonCoffee]

As bad as our traffic is, apparently it's not bad enough. It has to get to a breaking point, where "the people" are demanding better transit options.

A lot of folks move here from places with plenty of public transportation and some are glad to be able to drive a car, and live in the suburbs. People seem to like the affordability of Atlanta.

We've had rapid, sprawling growth. Geographically, we are not hemmed in by much. Politically, they've done whatever it takes to draw people here (including lax planning.)

MARTA was exceptionally poorly run in the recent past. Much like how some people still won't ride the subway in NYC because it had a less than stellar reputation in the 80s.

Unlike, NYC or DC or Chicago, however, MARTA isn't particularly easy to ride. Most folks have to seek out MARTA, and plan their day around it rather than just "catching the train."

Finally, unfortunately, we (Atlanta) have a long history with racism and poor race relations, and it's proven difficult to shake that reputation.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Fire them, there are plenty of workers who would be glad to have their position, retirement, and benefits.

This x infinity

[cqholt]

Unlike, NYC or DC or Chicago, however, MARTA isn't particularly easy to ride. Most folks have to seek out MARTA, and plan their day around it rather than just "catching the train."

Trains run every 10 minutes during peak hours, 10 minutes is not a long time to wait for a train, it takes some people more time to exit the parking garage.