Atlanta and Marta to operate the streetcar jointly (home, transfer to)

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by alco89

Just a thought arjay, but have we EVER been balanced as far as transportation funding goes? I mean, for most of the last 50-60 years it's been all about roads. Oh and let's not forget about this huge transportation/infrastructure proposal that Mayor Reed is trying to draw up. Stop acting like roads are completely going unnoticed...

alco, let's not forget that our region has spent many billions on MARTA and plans to continue doing so.

Granted, MARTA serves 123,000 people a day. But that's a drop in the bucket in a metro of 6 million. Even if we limited that to the service area only, that's still 10% or so of the population.

It's great that we have a public transportation option, but even where it exists most people don't use it.

Our town's bread and butter is the automobile and it has served us well. So let's not kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

[UrbanConquistador]

Funny to see people freaking out over this city finally spending cash on a rail extension after 14 years of nothing. Further disinvestment in alternative transportation would only hurt Atlanta in the long run and make us less competitive.

Just sit back, relax, and watch Atlanta grow into the bigger, better, and more connected city it deserves to be.

[arjay57]

Further disinvestment in our street system will hurt the city, too, Frankster. Most of our streets have had little or no attention from the city in years and they are a mess.

Fortunately GDOT and the private sector have stepped up to make some improvements but there is still a huge backlog of deferred maintenance.

I'm in favor of transit but we've got to to maintain a balance.

[alco89]

Originally Posted by arjay57

alco, let's not forget that our region has spent many billions on MARTA and plans to continue doing so.

Granted, MARTA serves 123,000 people a day. But that's a drop in the bucket in a metro of 6 million. Even if we limited that to the service area only, that's still 10% or so of the population.

It's great that we have a public transportation option, but even where it exists most people don't use it.

Our town's bread and butter is the automobile and it has served us well. So let's not kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Served us well to a point. There are many places where you literally can't do anything else to the road but pave it. Space has run out. I'm not saying we need to stop spending on our roads (we desperately need to repave and redo sidewalks), but just as we spent billions on mass transit, we spent many billions more on our roads. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe roads have served us so well because we directed so much money to them? I'm talking metro-wide, not just COA

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by arjay57

alco, let's not forget that our region has spent many billions on MARTA and plans to continue doing so.

$0 from the state. More of MARTA is paid by users than roads.

Originally Posted by arjay57

It's great that we have a public transportation option, but even where it exists most people don't use it.

Places where roads are not receiving huge subsides (other countries) have the more trips via transit than car. Most places have this weird idea of actually making the drivers pay for roads via tolls and higher gas taxes.

Originally Posted by arjay57

Our town's bread and butter is the automobile and it has served us well. So let's not kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Clearly you don't know history. Atlanta was a city built on rail. Private rail.

[demonta4]

Roads only help people with cars. Atlanta got by pretty good when we had streetcars.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by arjay57

alco, let's not forget that our region has spent many billions on MARTA and plans to continue doing so.

Granted, MARTA serves 123,000 people a day. But that's a drop in the bucket in a metro of 6 million. Even if we limited that to the service area only, that's still 10% or so of the population.

It's great that we have a public transportation option, but even where it exists most people don't use it.

Our town's bread and butter is the automobile and it has served us well. So let's not kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

Actually it's 227,000 per day, but who's counting. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And you can't really say that number is out of 6 million when MARTA only serves Fulton and DeKalb Counties...so it would be out of 1.7 million rather than 6.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by jsvh

More of MARTA is paid by users than roads.

How do we know that? Only about 20% of MARTA's funding comes from users. The bulk of it comes from the sales tax -- which falls on everybody who shops in Fulton or DeKalb, regardless of where they live -- and from federal grants.

As to road subsidies, I can tell you for a fact that the streets in my area have had little or no attention from the city in the last 20 years.

I agree with you on user fees. If it was feasible I'd make just about all roads toll roads. Stick it on the user.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

Actually it's 227,000 per day, but who's counting. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Actually, Wikipedia is in error on that (I know, hard to imagine).

According to MARTA itself, the numbers of individuals using MARTA on an average day is 123,400.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by arjay57

How do we know that? Only about 20% of MARTA's funding comes from users. The bulk of it comes from the sales tax -- which falls on everybody who shops in Fulton or DeKalb, regardless of where they live -- and from federal grants.

As to road subsidies, I can tell you for a fact that the streets in my area have had little or no attention from the city in the last 20 years.

I agree with you on user fees. If it was feasible I'd make just about all roads toll roads. Stick it on the user.

MARTA's farebox recovery ratio is 32% which is about the same as that both tolls and gas taxes pay for roads in GA ( Gasoline Taxes and User Fees Pay for Only Half of State & Local Road Spending | Tax Foundation ). Of course that is just raw %. We both already knew that the quantity spent was no where close.

But yeah, you get the subsidies out of both and let the people vote with their wallet and pay 100% with user fees and lets see what happens. I think it is more transit, more density, and less roads.