How is MARTA? (Atlanta, Dunwoody, Woodstock: flat fee, how much, limo)

[rlrl]

I'm from NY City and will be visiting my folks who are from NY, know NY well but now live in Woodstock, Ga in Cherokee County.

For some reason my mother has a hangup about my using MARTA. I will be flying into Hartsfield/Jackson and taking the MARTA from the Airport to N Springs which is the N/S line of MARTA. I have used NY subways for years and years and so the MARTA Atlanta system is very small in comparison and i see it as easy to use and I don't foresee any problems

My mother thinks there are characters and people on the MARTA trains who will cause me trouble as i will look like i'm "out of town" with my luggage. From what I see it looks like a good deal as it's $1.75 and only a 47 minute ride from the airport to N Springs. An airport limo would cost me at least $75 to get to their house so why not take MARTA. Besides, i like trains.

I would expect that most posters here will tell me that MARTA is safe and easy to use

I also had a question about N Springs. if i had to take a car svce from N Springs to Woodstock off route 92 (an 18 mile ride), how much would the ride cost? Are they metered cabs or car svces that charge a flat fee?

thanks in advance

[gt6974a]

If you're coming during the week during 'work' hours, you might want to take Marta to midtown and then take 'CATS' bus. Cherokee Area Transportation System, as it goes to Woodstock for $3-5.

North Springs to 92 is not that convenient.

Generally, Marta is fine, just maybe not that nice

[johnatl]

rlrl - I suspect that your Mom has been listening to her neighbors a little too much. There a quite a few folks out her way that are very anti-transit, particularly when it comes to MARTA. There are quite a few people in the suburbs here that enjoy bashing MARTA, even if they have never set foot on a train themselves. The stories seem to take on a life of their own.

[rlrl]

rlrl - I suspect that your Mom has been listening to her neighbors a little too much. There a quite a few folks out her way that are very anti-transit, particularly when it comes to MARTA. There are quite a few people in the suburbs here that enjoy bashing MARTA, even if they have never set foot on a train themselves. The stories seem to take on a life of their own.

**this is hilarious. My folks (mom from Bronx, dad from Bkln) have evolved into those people you mention, it seems. I laugh when i see MARTA divided into 3 lines compared to NY's 20 or so.

[rlrl]

North Springs to 92 is not that convenient.

** would the cabs still take me to Woodstock from N Springs?

[rlrl]

I think the last time my mom rode a subway was in 1979 in NYC (when NY was a mess)

[atlantagreg30127]

There might be some helpful info for you in these...

SAVING MONEY: A rookie's guide to riding MARTA | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/printedition/content/printedition/2008/07/24/eemartarookies.html - broken link)

The North/South line is relatively just fine on MARTA, especially during the day. Airport riders with luggage aren't rare. Just stay within site of your bags and be observant and you should be fine. Note that you may have to transfer trains at the Lindbergh Station as some continue North and others Northeast, so as in NY, note which train you're on and listen to the announcements so you'll know if you need to transfer or not. If you do it's just a matter of exiting and waiting on the next train - you don't have to go to another platform or anything.

[johnatl]

Well, in all fairness to your parents - they live among quite a few "anti-anything connected to Atlanta" type of people. The local news media certainly dosen't help matters either.

My sister and her family recently moved out there, and I met several of their new neighbors at a 4th of July cookout. When several of them learned that I live ITP (inside I-285), you would not believe some of the questions I got. From "do you have to carry a gun everywhere?" to "I would love to go to Lenox, but I'm afraid of being car-jacked" to "I'm proud to say I have not set foot inside of Atlanta in 10 years".

That is the pervasive mentality out there.

[rlrl]

the first time i drove to Atlanta from NY to visit my brother. I parked my car at the Perimeter Mall waiting for him to get off work (he had just moved to Ashford Dunwoody rd) and I started walking to the Best Buy. All of a sudden a woman starts screaming at the top of her lungs in the parking lot that someone had just robbed her or carjacked her (I can't remember exactly it was 9 years ago) and some people had to comfort her

I was shocked for this one to have been my first experience in Ga after having been in NY City for so long. I had never even seen anything like this in NY

[gt6974a]

Originally Posted by rlrl

North Springs to 92 is not that convenient.

** would the cabs still take me to Woodstock from N Springs?

They'll take you anywhere, question is the cost.