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Old 09-02-2012, 11:55 PM
 
9,008 posts, read 13,985,831 times
Reputation: 7638

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Quote:
The rail system, as limited in reach as it is, is better than many other systems, including in my opinion, New York City, Washington D.C. and significantly better than Boston
I know Washington's metro gets some degree of Federal funding.

But do Massachusetts and the state of New York fund the subway and the Boston system?
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Old 09-03-2012, 12:16 AM
 
Location: Smryna
69 posts, read 189,087 times
Reputation: 84
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattCW View Post
MARTA's management is fine. Any bureaucracy, particularly an inter-jurisdictional governmental bureaucracy, is going to have what people call waste and mismanagement. Should we blindly accept it? No. Should we cripple the agency until they can "do right?" NO!!!
MARTA is above the national median on farebox recovery ratio ahead of such cities as Portland, Denver, Dallas, etc. I actually think the 50/50 budget spit is a great idea, but I think the state must also fund the system. In comparison to other systems, MARTA is actually quite far ahead. The rail system, as limited in reach as it is, is better than many other systems, including in my opinion, New York City, Washington D.C. and significantly better than Boston. The trains are very clean, the track areas are very clean, the trains are fast and on-time and the system is safe. I can't comment much on the bus system, but in downtown at least it seems to be clean and reliable as well even if not quite as fast as an automobile between the same two points. If the state would just invest in the system, it would have much greater reach and may be pulling a full one or two million people off the roads. Imagine lines to Norcross, Cumberland, Alpharetta, Forest Park, Union City, Six Flags, Stone Mountain, and Lithonia. Add in a few limited-stop bus routes that go right down a main road (route 121 Kensington to Stone Mountain leaves Memorial Drive, then snakes around E Ponce de Leon), and you've got a world-class transit system for a very competitive international city.
I'll second this. Where is the "like" button.
As a lifelong resident of ATL (born at Cobb Hospital when it was Cobb General), I have watched this place become a nightmare of a giant traffic jam. No businesses want to do business where people sit and play in traffic for hours, no people want to move to a city where it costs them half their income to fuel a vehicle and spend 4 hours a day sitting on I-285 to go 10 miles.

We NEED the state to get off it and support infrastructure like MARTA. But we in Metro Atlanta have this separatist mentality that permeates not only local government, but the state as well, and it is caustic to our long term future.

I've seen this not just in transit but other issues as well. Ask me about our lack of public safety communications infrastrcutre support at the state level and I'll write you a novel.

If we want Atlanta to indeed be a world class city, we need a world class mass transit system. MARTA has the potential, but it is going to take getting the state to fund it to make it happen. and that is easier said than done.
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Old 09-03-2012, 01:09 AM
 
Location: East Side of ATL
4,586 posts, read 7,676,370 times
Reputation: 2158
Quote:
Originally Posted by ATLTJL View Post
I know Washington's metro gets some degree of Federal funding.

But do Massachusetts and the state of New York fund the subway and the Boston system?
For the MTA:

By Revenue Source
($ in millions)

Farebox Revenue $5,050
Toll Revenue 1,510
Other Revenue 525
Dedicated Taxes 4,414
State & Local Subsidies 1,002
Total $12,501

MTA has a payroll tax and real estate transfer tax (dedicated tax section) as well.

http://www.mta.info/mta/budget/feb2012/Master.pdf

MBTA is hard to read and c&p as well.

Looks like they have a dedicated sales tax, dedicated local assessments, contract assistance (aka state funding) of $160 million and other income

http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/Ab...%20website.pdf
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Old 09-03-2012, 03:38 AM
 
Location: East Point
4,790 posts, read 6,832,121 times
Reputation: 4782
for marta to be a "business", it sure isn't run like one. i've pointed this out on creative loafing before— since i don't have access to their internal finances i can just provide things i've noticed that waste a lot of money—

the biggest thing i've noticed is that the lights that run along GA 400 at the north springs exit, which are owned by marta (i know this because they're metal halide or induction lights, DOT only uses sodium vapour), stay on ALL DAY LONG lighting up the freeway— not the tracks, not a pedestrian area, but the freeway. if you examine the lights closely, there's no photocontrol on any of them (allows them to turn off during the day automatically). i've contacted them about this several times and have gotten no reply. my assumption is that, and i honestly think this— there is no way to turn the lights off. they installed lights without installing photocontrols which are the mechanism for the lights to turn off automatically, and probably don't have a switch for them since they're wired into the power grid.

those lights can cost around $250 per year to operate at night, per light. since they're staying on every day, that's another 12 hours they have to be on, essentially doubling the cost to $500 per year, per light. since there's around 25 lights, that's $12,500 a year being pissed away because they don't turn the lights off!

look, i like marta, and i think it deserves a whole lot more funding than it gets, including state and federal. but i also think there needs to be a platoon of efficiency experts to descend across marta's entire operation and evaluate ways to save money— i'm not talking about hassling workers or firing people, these are just incredibly obvious ways to save money that the marta management is completely missing.
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Old 09-03-2012, 06:37 AM
 
Location: Atlanta - Midtown
749 posts, read 883,293 times
Reputation: 732
Quote:
Originally Posted by bryantm3 View Post
look, i like marta, and i think it deserves a whole lot more funding than it gets, including state and federal. but i also think there needs to be a platoon of efficiency experts to descend across marta's entire operation and evaluate ways to save money— i'm not talking about hassling workers or firing people, these are just incredibly obvious ways to save money that the marta management is completely missing.
Haven't they just been through a third party audit to do just that?
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Old 09-03-2012, 08:22 AM
 
52 posts, read 102,908 times
Reputation: 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by ATLTJL View Post
This again?

Before MARTA receives any funding, they need to get their managment straightened out.
Or at least their vending machines. It's been (I think) two whole days that they're taking cash only. Really? If this were to happen in DC there would probably be riots.
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Old 09-03-2012, 08:35 AM
 
Location: Atlanta, Ga
2,490 posts, read 2,534,459 times
Reputation: 2057
Quote:
Originally Posted by ATLTJL View Post
I know Washington's metro gets some degree of Federal funding.

But do Massachusetts and the state of New York fund the subway and the Boston system?
MARTA is the largest system in the US not to recieve funding. Both of those other systems are larger, so I'd have to say YES.
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Old 09-03-2012, 07:24 PM
 
2,685 posts, read 6,028,760 times
Reputation: 952
If so what was the results of the audit. Its really sad but we have seen before where an outside audit makes recommendations that are not followed or the entity disagrees with the results of the audit. The Atlanta Water Dept comes to mind as one example and at the federal level the deficit reduction committee comes to mind where no one in public office would support the results of a committee they formed.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Frankster87 View Post
Haven't they just been through a third party audit to do just that?
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Old 09-04-2012, 06:24 PM
 
Location: DC/Brooklyn, NY/Miami, FL
1,178 posts, read 2,944,391 times
Reputation: 391
Quote:
Originally Posted by MattCW View Post
MARTA's management is fine. Any bureaucracy, particularly an inter-jurisdictional governmental bureaucracy, is going to have what people call waste and mismanagement. Should we blindly accept it? No. Should we cripple the agency until they can "do right?" NO!!!
MARTA is above the national median on farebox recovery ratio ahead of such cities as Portland, Denver, Dallas, etc. I actually think the 50/50 budget spit is a great idea, but I think the state must also fund the system. In comparison to other systems, MARTA is actually quite far ahead. The rail system, as limited in reach as it is, is better than many other systems, including in my opinion, New York City, Washington D.C. and significantly better than Boston. The trains are very clean, the track areas are very clean, the trains are fast and on-time and the system is safe. I can't comment much on the bus system, but in downtown at least it seems to be clean and reliable as well even if not quite as fast as an automobile between the same two points. If the state would just invest in the system, it would have much greater reach and may be pulling a full one or two million people off the roads. Imagine lines to Norcross, Cumberland, Alpharetta, Forest Park, Union City, Six Flags, Stone Mountain, and Lithonia. Add in a few limited-stop bus routes that go right down a main road (route 121 Kensington to Stone Mountain leaves Memorial Drive, then snakes around E Ponce de Leon), and you've got a world-class transit system for a very competitive international city.


Lol I want whatever you are drinking.
MARTA isnt better than WMATA, MBTA, and it damn sure isnt better than MTA NYC.
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Old 09-04-2012, 06:33 PM
 
6,610 posts, read 8,987,091 times
Reputation: 4230
Quote:
Originally Posted by BKmachine View Post
Lol I want whatever you are drinking.
MARTA isnt better than WMATA, MBTA, and it damn sure isnt better than MTA NYC.
Of course it isn't better than any of those systems in coverage, but there are other ways to measure a transit system (like some of the ones listed in MattCW's post). I can think of a few ways that MARTA is better than some of the systems in question...but that's just one person's opinion - you may not agree.
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