Why is MARTA so controversial? (Doraville: employment, cost of, airport)

[st3mpy]

It isn't that only 4% of the population is eligible for mass transit use. No, only 4% currently CHOOSE to use it. I personally know several people who could save time, money, stress, and stress of others by taking the train to work or the airport. But they don't.

I think that applies to many in the metro area: It doesn't matter how much sense it makes to take MARTA, they will never do it. Period. I mean, look at the airport parking lot. Who in their right mind would pay $10+/day to park their car when they can park in a MARTA lot for free and only spend $5.00 total?

[AfternoonCoffee]

Originally Posted by rselah25

Agreed. Mass transit in China is "relatively new" but they went all the way with it, when they did build the infrastructure. Almost all the major cities, have a major subway network. And that network interconnects most of those cities. The technology they use is top notch too. Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, they all have a stellar metro system that cannot be rivaled by most systems here in the US...

Also, and very importantly, China's VASTLY different political structure allows for big, state-funded projects that would have to pass a lot of hurdles here in the US. Leaders in China don't really have to worry about counting votes, or many of the other unpleasantries of living in a democratic republic.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by rselah25

Consider the environmental impact the 96% create, then I think there is justification for the argument to favor the 4%....

And there's a good argument for voting out the politicians who do that!

[AfternoonCoffee]

Originally Posted by st3mpy

I think that applies to many in the metro area: It doesn't matter how much sense it makes to take MARTA, they will never do it. Period. I mean, look at the airport parking lot. Who in their right mind would pay $10+/day to park their car when they can park in a MARTA lot for free and only spend $5.00 total?

What are MARTA's hours to and from the airport? Isn't there a transfer after a certain time, too?

To answer your questions: for many people getting to a MARTA station is just as difficult as getting to the airport, so they feeling like they are just adding an unnecessary layer to their travel schedule. Speaking of schedule, the timing has to work out for using MARTA to and from the airport. People worry about delays. Another reason: people travel with luggage and lugging suitcases on and off the train seems like another additional step. Finally, after traveling some people like the privacy and familiarity of their car.

I'm sure there are many many many other reasons, but those are the first few I could think of.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by st3mpy

Who in their right mind would pay $10+/day to park their car when they can park in a MARTA lot for free and only spend $5.00 total?

Everyone because MARTA doesn't allow free long term parking at its stations.

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by st3mpy

Who in their right mind would pay $10+/day to park their car when they can park in a MARTA lot for free and only spend $5.00 total?

Plenty of folks who don't care to schlep around with their luggage on a hot train car while drunk folks serenade you once on board and then have to schlep through a stinky MARTA parking lot to their car. Much more pleasant to simply drive. After moving to the burbs I decided to park at the Doraville station and take MARTA to the airport. Worked out just as described. But, I decided to do it again. Same (almost) experience.

Unfortunately, now I simply drive or take a car service. Too bad...

[bu2]

Originally Posted by AfternoonCoffee

What are MARTA's hours to and from the airport? Isn't there a transfer after a certain time, too?

To answer your questions: for many people getting to a MARTA station is just as difficult as getting to the airport, so they feeling like they are just adding an unnecessary layer to their travel schedule. Speaking of schedule, the timing has to work out for using MARTA to and from the airport. People worry about delays. Another reason: people travel with luggage and lugging suitcases on and off the train seems like another additional step. Finally, after traveling some people like the privacy and familiarity of their car.

I'm sure there are many many many other reasons, but those are the first few I could think of.

And your car might get stolen or broken into. We were warned by people who had it happen at East Lake when we first moved here.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by st3mpy

It isn't that only 4% of the population is eligible for mass transit use. No, only 4% currently CHOOSE to use it. I personally know several people who could save time, money, stress, and stress of others by taking the train to work or the airport. But they don't.

I think that applies to many in the metro area: It doesn't matter how much sense it makes to take MARTA, they will never do it. Period. I mean, look at the airport parking lot. Who in their right mind would pay $10+/day to park their car when they can park in a MARTA lot for free and only spend $5.00 total?

Well I use to recommend this and still do. I travel quite extensively for work, so I spend a good bit of time in the airport network.

The reality is most travel is over night. There are some business commuters and some people who travel in and out for a single meeting, but for many it is over night. MARTA does not offer free long-term parking and they only offer it at certain stations.

It is $5/day at 5 stations and it is $8/day at 4 stations and not possible at others. The $5 stations are a bit more inconvenient to some, which is why there is a cost difference. They are trying to deter long-term parking in places where there are more car daily commuters, which is perfectly reasonable.



Alternatively, I can park in an off-site airport lot with a coupon that ranges from $5.50 to $8.00/night depending on how long I park whether or not it is over the weekend. (FYI, for me I do more long-term trips, so I typically get something towards the cheaper side of that).

The off-site lots provides me a shuttle straight from my car to the airports curb, gives me a free paper, and a free drink leaving.

Now I started off with MARTA saving every last dollar I could. I did this for a good 4 years or so. Ultimately I changed most of these trips to the off-site lot for 3 reasons:

1) Late arrivals or arrivals after delays. Marta shuts down at 1am. I got stranded a few times and cut it close even more.

2) It took me longer to drive and take MARTA, than just drive to the airport area. My drive actually passes a long-term parking station. I only travel to the airport during rush hour on occasion. Typically I have an afternoon overseas flight or an extremely early domestic flight, so I can start the business day somewhere else. Traffic 95% of the time is a non-issue, at least in Atlanta, because of this. My destinations are different stories.

3) Marta runs fairly well, but they still have problems from time to time. If it was a daily commute, and I get held up for an hour or two... its a blip in the radar.. I can shrug that off. However, if it makes me miss an expensive flight and holds me up for a day it costs me very real money. On one occasion I was on a train where the door got stuck open. The situation was not rectified very quickly. Another time the train I was on got stuck for a very long time when there was single tracking on the south line and a train going the other way broke and clogged the tracks. Admittedly, this was only twice over a 4 year period, but it got to the point where I was leaving the house way too early in the morning or trying to take the first train in the day to make my flight and I was still nervous about the -if-. When I drive I can check traffic ahead of time and I have many different routes I can take if one is closed.

[David1502]

Originally Posted by st3mpy

It isn't that only 4% of the population is eligible for mass transit use. No, only 4% currently CHOOSE to use it. I personally know several people who could save time, money, stress, and stress of others by taking the train to work or the airport. But they don't.

I think that applies to many in the metro area: It doesn't matter how much sense it makes to take MARTA, they will never do it. Period. I mean, look at the airport parking lot. Who in their right mind would pay $10+/day to park their car when they can park in a MARTA lot for free and only spend $5.00 total?

I can tell you exactly why people choose to drive to the airport and park there and pay more instead of taking MARTA.

It takes me about 15 minutes without rush hour traffic to reach the nearest MARTA station. If I arrive there and the train has just left, I have to wait at least 15 minutes. Then it is an almost 40 minute ride from the Dunwoody station (behind Perimeter Mall) to the Airport. So under this scenario, I have to allow for an hour and ten minutes total trip time.

On the other hand, I can drive to the Airport during morning rush hour on 285 on the west side doing 65 (or better) the whole way and be on the Airport property in 25 minutes or less. Early in the morning, I value being able to sleep an extra 35 minutes!

On the back end of a trip, I want to get home as soon as possible. The last thing I want to do is sit in the airport waiting for the train to leave. Then, if it's late in the day I will have to sit at Lindberg station waiting for a transfer to a North Springs train to take me to the Dunwoody station. This is another 20 minutes

I don't find the train ride relaxing - I feel like I have to stand up the whole time to keep my luggage out of the way of people who are constantly getting off or getting on.

Unless the trip is over 8 days, then and only then is the extra cost of parking at the Airport justification enough to deal with the hassle of taking MARTA.

If you want to see a fast efficient transit system, check out the CALTRAIN in the Bay area where they have express trains which are able to travel over 50 mile in about an hour because they are making limited stops. MARTA on the other hand doesn't have the extra tracks to allow for such and that makes it less attractive for a lot of folks who could possibly use it to make trips to downtown or the airport.

CALTRAIN has double decker cars with great views and if you are on the second level, you don't have to deal with people constantly coming and going.

[bhammaster]

Originally Posted by bu2

"empirically proven?" That's funny.

People will use what is cheapest and most convenient. That is rarely mass transit. Atlanta will almost certainly never be a NYC, so mass transit will be what is cheapest and most convenient for only a small minority. 10% would be good.

7% of Atlantans telecommute (and this was a 2009 USA Today article-its probably higher now). The point is that people using transit is a small number and all our policies shouldn't be built around 4% of the population. That's a ridiculous approach to ignore 96% of the population. That is the stupid that you propose. Its dumber than any of Trump's ideas and he has some whoppers.

We need both and need to consider the impact on more than just the 4%.

Your solution to our traffic suffocation is just more of what we have been doing vs giving other options? No wonder nothing ever changes and the issue gets worse.