What is the One Thing MARTA Should do Most? (home, transfer)

[scpatl4now]

If you could select one thing that MARTA should do that would give you more confidence it the system as a whole...what would it be? It also should be something doable. Now that we have a new manager...what can/should he do?

[architect77]

Encourage passengers to bathe more and stink less.

[scpatl4now]

Originally Posted by architect77

Encourage passengers to bathe more and stink less.

I said "doable" dont think everyones hygiene fits in that category

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by scpatl4now

If you could select one thing that MARTA should do that would give you more confidence it the system as a whole...what would it be? It also should be something doable. Now that we have a new manager...what can/should he do?

My thing is before alot more money is spent on the system I think capital needs to be put into sprucing up the most actively used stations so they feel bright, clean, safe, and nice.

I realize it is largely subjective impressions that lead for the need of this, but it is a product and it needs to be sold to get people onboard. I'm also increasingly concerned with what most visitors to our city see, which is largely between the airport, Five Points, and Peacthree Center. When visitors love or complain about our city, especially the conventioneers, that is often what they see first.

[bryantm3]

create stations that integrate with the current environment rather than these huge monsterous odes to brutalism that are built all over the metro— i'm talking about stations especially all along the east and south lines, fort mac, reynoldstown, east lake, etc.— they stifle development directly around the stations. they are overly elabourate for subway stations, they are bigger than most amtrak stations. and they aren't even pretty. subway stations should provide the most transit access with the minimum amount of interference with the environment.

check out this video i found of a subway station in tokyo: it's under the street, allows high rise development on top, and when you exit the station it's only a short walk up the steps to street level. the station itself allows retail to operate within the station— no waste of space. this is what all marta stations need to aspire to become.


Ginza Station and Ginza Main Street - Friday Night - (110624-1943) - YouTube

[ATLTJL]

It may sound stupid......but the biggest thing he could probably do the system that is quick and dirty is change the outdated font and logo of MARTA.

I know big companies usually hire advertising agencies and pay tons of money for this, but all he really has to do is go to SCAD and ask students in one of the advanced design classes to all come up with different designs. Then he can select one and give the winner a scholarship and donate $50,000 to the school. Done and done. It's not like high level conceptualization is needed, pretty much anything would be better than what they have. It would also signify a new era and new branding.

Short of that, what also should be done is to have trains run more frequently and later into the evening.

I would also look into climate control options for the stations. I know they can't run HVAC into them, but I bet there are other solutions that could be done involving ventilation, wind shelters, etc. that would at least make them feel more comfortable.

I have absolutely no idea if this math would work out, but I would try to have a security guard on duty at every platform all the time. If you have 38 stations, guards are on duty 20 hours a day, and they make $12 per hour (I'm not talking off duty police officers, just security guards, so I think this is a fair rate), and they work every day of the year, that would be just over $3.3 million per year. Figure $5 million with benefits for everyone. I don't know if this is a huge number for MARTA or not, but I would raise the fare by 50 cents if I had to in order to pay for it. I think this would do an awful lot to add to a perception of safety on MARTA.

I would also try to spruce up the stations in inexpensive ways. Like maybe you could invite local artists to display their work in temporary installations. Maybe you could use the PA to pipe in soft unobtrusive music. Just things like that to try to class it up a bit and make it slightly more attractive and less purely utilitarian. I would definitely want those awesome LED lights on the platform that start blinking when the trian is coming like the DC Metro has, but I'm sure that is big bucks.

[FromGA]

Have they opened food kiosks yet? It was in the news. At all the stations, and are they good?

Haven't been on MARTA in 2 years, so I dont know the latest. When I was a MARTA regular, I found it puzzling that they would not take advantage of some basic things like that.

[BroadStJudge]

Move the buses that idle around the Five Points station. Many of the routes can start from another station like GA State or Vine City. Right now all the drug dealers use the excuse of waiting for bus as a way of hanging out on the sidewalk ALL day long selling drugs.

[erick295]

I don't think it needs to look better, I think it needs to work better.

Easiest? Bump up the frequency to where it used to be, so you're not sitting on a platform for 20 minutes waiting for a train. Quit making people transfer at Lindbergh to stay on the North Springs line. Bring the deprecated bus routes back and run them more than once an hour.

Hard? Build more stations on the current lines.

Hardest of all? Get lines going to more places.

Those are all obvious, but will probably never happen as long as there's no state funding and they're locked into the financial mess they're in now. If they could get money from the state and use their own money for what they need it for, it would be a much different system.

It's not that it's useless, it's that it's only useful for certain situations. Go to a place like New York or Toronto and it will open your eyes: Stations every few blocks, entrances on every corner, trains running every five minutes... it's a totally different experience. What good is taking MARTA when it takes you over an hour to make a trip that would take 20 minutes in a car? I'd like to use it more, but when I have to walk so far to stations and it runs so infrequently it makes it less appealing.

[ChefRamsey]

Originally Posted by BroadStJudge

Move the buses that idle around the Five Points station. Many of the routes can start from another station like GA State or Vine City. Right now all the drug dealers use the excuse of waiting for bus as a way of hanging out on the sidewalk ALL day long selling drugs.

This qualifies as a true statement. Five points MARTA station. I see the bags. That whole area is home to hoodlums with low riders and trashy rap music.

Are low riders even legal? Doesn't seem very safe..you would think the police would do something about it.