MARTA pushes back against the Media (Atlanta, Jackson: closing, safer, train)

[ATLTJL]

the local patches are independent

Patch is owned by America Online.

[AcidSnake]

You would literally have to remake society to fix MARTA's image...or at least remake Georgia's society.

Everything from white flight during the past 40-50 years, following from that flight the zoning policies that encourages runaway commercial & residential sprawl, tax policies at the national and state level starting from the Reagan era that all but discourages local investment in infrastructure and people, economic policies that encourages capital flight from our shores to distant lands while not leaving a good safety net for those left behind...and the list goes on and on.

I don't know if MARTA will ever have that capability to increase white ridership in whatever measurable amount that people will choose to ascribe to it. Most of our state's political, business, and community leadership quite simply won't look outside this state to see what other transit systems be they national & international, are doing right and wrong...and then to duplicate what's being done right.

I'm pretty sure that there is fair amount of processes at MARTA that can be government-operated & privatized without injuring the weakest members of Georgia society...but I surely won't expect Georgia's collective leadership to put forth such a comprehensive conversation.

This conversation which potentially puts all cards on the table, to include the stakeholders representing all of Georgia. The haphazard way in which the T-SPLOST roundtable had to be forced to include Mayor Reed as the inner-city rep proves that such a situation is unlikely.

For whatever reason, be it old age, lack of travel experience, lack of dealing with diverse cultures beyond the superficial "grip & grin", too many of our leaders are waaay too entrenched in southern social mores...and far too trapped by Georgia's history to dare to be special.

The Civil Rights movement was a gift to this state, and that extreme outlier only bought at best a temporary jumpstart to what has always been a regressive & staid cultural thought process. What else is out there that will shake Atlanta from its current regressive torpor that this state is hellbent in trying to force upon it?

I hope someone can successfully answer my question, because I just can't seem to find it.

Originally Posted by arjay57

That is hilarious.

But Ansley is right. MARTA has an image problem and saying it is stupid and unjustified won't fix it.

[ATLTJL]

A few years ago I would have argued your points about leadership.

However, after having lived in the suburbs and especially dealing with some of the entities in slightly further flung counties, it is definitely true that redneck politics are alive and well in much of the state, and even in metro Atlanta.

But you can't look at that without also looking within. As much as a great deal of Georgia needs to change its redneck politics, the city of Atlanta needs to change its black mafia politics.

I don't know exactly to what degree this dichotomy holds back projects like MARTA, but it's easy to see how these 2 factions would have a difficult time playing nice with each other. I don't know how to solve the problem logistically, but I do know that if the leadership of Georgia and Atlanta more accurately reflected the populations of those places, we'd have many fewer issues and conflicts.

To put it simply, southern whites need to stop electing people just because they are southern, white, and Christian and the blacks need to stop electing people just because they are black and promise to make things better for the poor. We need people in the middle who can see the bigger picture.

[AcidSnake]

I actually agree with you on this.

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

A few years ago I would have argued your points about leadership.

However, after having lived in the suburbs and especially dealing with some of the entities in slightly further flung counties, it is definitely true that redneck politics are alive and well in much of the state, and even in metro Atlanta.

But you can't look at that without also looking within. As much as a great deal of Georgia needs to change its redneck politics, the city of Atlanta needs to change its black mafia politics.

I don't know exactly to what degree this dichotomy holds back projects like MARTA, but it's easy to see how these 2 factions would have a difficult time playing nice with each other. I don't know how to solve the problem logistically, but I do know that if the leadership of Georgia and Atlanta more accurately reflected the populations of those places, we'd have many fewer issues and conflicts.

To put it simply, southern whites need to stop electing people just because they are southern, white, and Christian and the blacks need to stop electing people just because they are black and promise to make things better for the poor. We need people in the middle who can see the bigger picture.

[MattCW]

I actually think the easiest way to improve MARTA's perception, is put it on paper under GRTA, but don't give GRTA real control of it. Unless the politicians got a hold of this plan (which they probably would) it shouldn't cost more than a few thousand dollars to install some kind of powerless "joint committee" to roll MARTA "under" GRTA. In my anecdotal experience, "run the rail under a new agency" is second only to the tired rhetoric of "MARTA attracts crime" when people are trying to find reasons to oppose suburban MARTA expansion under the current system.

[UrbanConquistador]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

MARTA -- "Ok.. we need an ad to help white people feel safe while riding MARTA. Go get a photo with the whitest family you can find. The more Aryan, the safer they will feel!"

Do you have a problem with white people on Marta?

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Alas, you are right. MARTA needs to increase frequency and expand to attract choice riders.

cq, not "choice" but "more". I think that's the ticket, so to speak.

[atlantagreg30127]

I believe MARTA was a little miffed that WSBTV dug deep enough to report this very recently: MARTA board spends nearly $150K on business psychologist | www.wsbtv.com

[AcidSnake]

The funny part is, private companies & corporations often purchase services like these all the time without not a peep from their shareholders. So if MARTA was totally governed in whole by a private company, would this situation even have been an issue?

Sometimes the news reporting that comes out of this state concerning inner-city public agencies seems to be nothing more than splitting hairs. Someone is always trying to find a "gotcha" moment, and yet...that moment rarely ever seems to arrive.

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I believe MARTA was a little miffed that WSBTV dug deep enough to report this very recently: MARTA board spends nearly $150K on business psychologist | www.wsbtv.com

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

I believe MARTA was a little miffed that WSBTV dug deep enough to report this very recently: MARTA board spends nearly $150K on business psychologist | www.wsbtv.com

And what's wrong with MARTA spending $150K to develop better networking skills within. Its things like this that will keep MARTA from becoming like Clayton Co BOE or DeKalb County BOE, where there is so much internal fighting that nothing gets done.
And yes I did mean more choice riders. Those that have cars, but choose to use transit.