Moving to Atlanta area. Is MARTA as bad as everyone says it is? (Chamblee: how much, to buy)

[jhtrico1850]

I live 2 miles from the Doraville train, and it’s fantastic. Easy ride to the stadiums, airport, Piedmont Park, Fox Theatre. You can save a lot of $ too, taking marta, vs driving and paying (or finding) parking.

I have a job in Midtown that I ride the marta to once a week (work from home the other 4 days).

It does have the occasional strange or smelly person, but I’m willing to suffer that over rush hour traffic.

If you don’t actually work near a Marta though, and you think you would use it like once a month, don’t think it’s mecessary to live super close to it.

[Atlanta Scientist]

The weekend service can suck but I tend to use the buses more on the weekend. It is relatively safe but nothing is ever absolutely safe. To me, it's not MARTA but what part of the city you're going to that can make it feel unsafe just from the lack of other people around. I feel comfortable pretty much anywhere north of five points station. Further south I'm a bit more aware of my surroundings. I don't use the east-west lines that much. Always make extra time but it is the best way to get to the airport. Living next to MARTA makes living here so much better.

[Gulch]

Absolutely not.

[CaliDreaming01]

I think it is comparable to other cities on things like comfort, safety, timeliness, etc. The biggest drawback on MARTA is that it is just so limited. Most places you'll need to get to do not have MARTA access anywhere near by. You'll also probably want to travel to burbs that have no MARTA access whatsoever quite frequently.

I used to live right across the street from a MARTA station and did not use it that much. I'd go through periods where I'd take it to work, which was nice. But even then, Atlanta's weather can be harsh in the summer and walking even a short distance from the station to my job left me drenched in sweat.

A city of Atlanta's size does need better public transport. However, with Atlanta's sprawl, I really don't see it ever being a city where most people can go or would want to go car-free. Might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think that is a bad thing.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by CaliDreaming01

A city of Atlanta's size does need better public transport. However, with Atlanta's sprawl, I really don't see it ever being a city where most people can go or would want to go car-free. Might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think that is a bad thing.

Until you run into a Snowpocalypse or I-85 bridge collapse that paralyzes the local road/freeway network. In any case, we haven't even tried to go this route and continue to sink billions of dollars in propping up our car-centric network (i.e. GDOT's Metro Atlanta MMIP toll lanes).

[ATLTJL]

walking even a short distance from the station to my job left me drenched in sweat.

Actually, this is the reason I really never took MARTA to work. Even if you park at the MARTA station, the stations and platforms do not offer any climate control. So you can become a sweaty mess just waiting for a train to arrive.

I sometimes won't take MARTA to the airport for the same reason. If it's above 70 degrees outside, you're going to work up a sweat dragging your luggage down to the platform. If a train isn't right there, you're going to get hotter and hotter waiting for one. Then you have to take your entire trip sticky and stinky.

I recently almost had a massive international flight ruined by this. Had The Club in the international terminal not had showers, I don't know what I would have done. The flights would have been miserable, for sure.

I know it's impractical to climate control platforms where trains have to come and go, but some sort of climate controlled waiting vestibules would be welcome.

[Atlanta Scientist]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Actually, this is the reason I really never took MARTA to work. Even if you park at the MARTA station, the stations and platforms do not offer any climate control. So you can become a sweaty mess just waiting for a train to arrive.

I sometimes won't take MARTA to the airport for the same reason. If it's above 70 degrees outside, you're going to work up a sweat dragging your luggage down to the platform. If a train isn't right there, you're going to get hotter and hotter waiting for one. Then you have to take your entire trip sticky and stinky.

I recently almost had a massive international flight ruined by this. Had The Club in the international terminal not had showers, I don't know what I would have done. The flights would have been miserable, for sure.

I know it's impractical to climate control platforms where trains have to come and go, but some sort of climate controlled waiting vestibules would be welcome.

They need more fans than they think is necessary and then an extra one for good measure. The two or three they have on each side of the platforms is not enough.

[ATLTJL]

They need more fans than they think is necessary and then an extra one for good measure. The two or three they have on each side of the platforms is not enough.

I agree. But even more fans blowing around 95 degree air that is 90% saturated with humidity will only help so much.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by turkeydance

to reference the above posts:

1. according to my son: MARTA is better than the METRO (DC).
2. i used to ride MARTA for 6 years from Chamblee to Downtown and back.
3. i never had any MARTA problems at all. not once. some close calls, though.

I'd be curious in what way(s) Marta is better than the DC Metro. Having used both extensively, I find that absurd.

Metro has far more stations, far more destinations near the stations, and more lines going to each destination.

Granted, Metro has been having some maintenance issues lately that have caused temporary problems, but as a system, Marta is nowhere close.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by daysofwinter

That's a good point. One person lived in Gwinnett county, then Smyrna, not within city limits. The other lives near L5P, so they might be a mile or two from the nearest station which might legitimately be a issue regarding inconvenient walking distance.

I'll be new to the area, but it seems like people's experience with MARTA depends on a lot of factors. Seems there's legitimate issues about service not being available in areas that need it, but also racism and stigma about public transportation over the years.

As another user said, maybe I won't use it as much as I plan to but it can still be a convenience at times. I'll still need a car/uber.

L5P is a ten minute walk to the nearest station. Your L5P friend sounds like someone who just doesn't like public transit.