MARTA fare increase goes into effect today (Atlanta, Dunwoody: buy, taxi)

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by MiamiRob

Well it is "Jawja" where the state won't even subsidize the largest mass transit system in the Southeast and then the citizens have to pay for it. Atlanta should secede.

Really, I don't think the state should subsidize it. At most, spread the burden out over the region that actually uses it.

It's just that the percentage of increase seems excessive.

[testa50]

In the past, you got a 15% discount for buying in 20 trip increments ($1.70 per trip). I wonder if they kept that incentive there or not.

Also, I don't get how it's now the second most expensive in the US. BART has variable fares: some routes cost over $5 each way. Atlanta has a flat rate system, which is very reasonable if you are going from the Airport to Dunwoody (20 miles)--so it's not so black and white. Seems like calculating cost per mile for the average user is probably the more accurate comparison, which would be difficult to do.

[toll_booth]

Not at all MARTA's fault. What else can we expect when it is the nation's largest transit agency that does not receive state funding.

[PedestriAnne]

I must be one of them eeelegals too, as I've let people at work borrow my card to run lunchtime errands in midtown or downtown so they wouldn't have to move their cars or pay to park somewhere.

[PedestriAnne]

Anyway, I'll definitely be buying my fare by the week instead of by the month from now on.

MARTA's been making noises about moving to distance-based fares for a little while now, but I'd say that's still at least a couple of years away. (I hope I'm wrong.) It's a waste to have people paying the same amount to ride from Dunwoody to the airport as they'd pay to ride from Arts Center to Lindbergh.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

Not at all MARTA's fault. What else can we expect when it is the nation's largest transit agency that does not receive state funding.

I'd say MARTA should take some blame. Imagine if accounting told a company's CEO that they had to raise their prices 25% to 40%. That's too much sticker shock.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by PedestriAnne

Anyway, I'll definitely be buying my fare by the week instead of by the month from now on.

MARTA's been making noises about moving to distance-based fares for a little while now, but I'd say that's still at least a couple of years away. (I hope I'm wrong.) It's a waste to have people paying the same amount to ride from Dunwoody to the airport as they'd pay to ride from Arts Center to Lindbergh.

Maybe...I'm open to any justifications. But the trains will be covering those distances with or without passengers. I think each car weighs 250,000 pounds so most of the energy used is to move the car. Distance-based fees will add additional costs and complexity to run the system. I just like the present system's simplicity.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

I'd say MARTA should take some blame. Imagine if accounting told a company's CEO that they had to raise their prices 25% to 40%. That's too much sticker shock.

Not if you have a captive audience.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Not if you have a captive audience.

MARTA's always thanking me for "choosing" MARTA, so I guess I have alternatives. And MARTA expects a drop in ridership of 9% as a result of the fare increase.

[Box]

Yeah...I think that its fair to say that if we let Marta go we can say bye bye to the progress that Metro Atlanta has made over the past few decades.