Georgia Senate panel recommends 'path forward' for regional transit (Atlanta: insurance, buses)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

We don't necessarily need to consolidate. What I'm hoping for is private companies running transit to Cobb and Gwinnett counties, and North Fulton.

North Fulton is part of MARTA, so probably not. CobbLinc is contracted out to a private company, look at the great job they do!

[primaltech]

We need something much more than the status quo plus "consolidating some of their planning and funding functions".

There needs to be a new way for MARTA to permanently expand into the parts of Cobb and Gwinnett counties that would be favorable to it, and that need it most. Without a county-wide referendum required. Just a referendum in those areas, such as Cumberland. And one that could hopefully happen in November of this year.

Commuter rail, I'm certainly open to having a P3 work with GRTA for that or whatever. Especially since it needs to serve outside the 5 MARTA-allowed counties.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by primaltech

We need something much more than the status quo plus "consolidating some of their planning and funding functions".

There needs to be a new way for MARTA to permanently expand into the parts of Cobb and Gwinnett counties that would be favorable to it, and that need it most. Without a county-wide referendum required. Just a referendum in those areas, such as Cumberland. And one that could hopefully happen in November of this year.

Commuter rail, I'm certainly open to having a P3 work with GRTA for that or whatever. Especially since it needs to serve outside the 5 MARTA-allowed counties.

Then I'd be getting on the horn with your state rep and telling them that.

[primaltech]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Then I'd be getting on the horn with your state rep and telling them that.

She's a pro-transit progressive Democrat, hopelessly outnumbered and powerless. But, sure, OK, I'll talk to her.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by primaltech

She's a pro-transit progressive Democrat, hopelessly outnumbered and powerless. But, sure, OK, I'll talk to her.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by primaltech

She's a pro-transit progressive Democrat, hopelessly outnumbered and powerless. But, sure, OK, I'll talk to her.

That's a good thing. Legislators who are in the minority need to know that they are not out there all alone.

They also need contributions.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Metro Atlanta transportation plan calls for major bus expansion

This is a really good start but it still leaves me with some worries. -- I'll explain below...

Originally Posted by demonta4

That's amazing, I didn't know we had the funding.

I personally have always been under the impression that funding was one of the smaller things limiting the Metro from receiving more extensive mass-transit. I'm sure if the demand was there.. the money would find its way there as it did for just about everything else this city has built. I have personally felt that it has been more so about too many political figures with too many different agendas other than what is best for the metro region as a whole.

Originally Posted by cqholt

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2018-01-03: Once shunned, mass transit now priority for lawmakers

This is really good news.

However here are my concerns, also noted from your first post.

What I am really scared of is that while the funding for the bus systems may be consolidated, that the actual services themselves may still very well be divided and operate as their own company instead of one joint effort running similarly or exactly as MARTA does leaving the metro still with gaps of coverage and no coordination making the new services infeasible (commute wise, not price wise) to use .. .. I "personally" would like to see both Cobb and Gwinnett surrender and run jointly as MARTA, maybe not BECOME MARTA, but much like the Sound Transit system in the Puget Sound -- Multiple counties offer different bus services but they are all run jointly under Sound Transit which gives them an extremely large area of coverage and seamless transits making travel even from Olympia to Downtown Seattle (Nearly 70 miles) quite realistic.

This is a REALLY good start and gives us hope so don't get me wrong Im not knocking this, I'm just hoping that these counties don't intend on just "throwing money at it" and expecting it all to work because it's going to take a bit more than that... there will need to be close collaboration as to how these systems will be providing services as well....also I am hoping to see a rail system expansion / or commuter rail emerge from this as well.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

This is a really good start but it still leaves me with some worries. -- I'll explain below...



I personally have always been under the impression that funding was one of the smaller things limiting the Metro from receiving more extensive mass-transit. I'm sure if the demand was there.. the money would find its way there as it did for just about everything else this city has built. I have personally felt that it has been more so about too many political figures with too many different agendas other than what is best for the metro region as a whole.



This is really good news.

However here are my concerns, also noted from your first post.

What I am really scared of is that while the funding for the bus systems may be consolidated, that the actual services themselves may still very well be divided and operate as their own company instead of one joint effort running similarly or exactly as MARTA does leaving the metro still with gaps of coverage and no coordination making the new services infeasible (commute wise, not price wise) to use .. .. I "personally" would like to see both Cobb and Gwinnett surrender and run jointly as MARTA, maybe not BECOME MARTA, but much like the Sound Transit system in the Puget Sound -- Multiple counties offer different bus services but they are all run jointly under Sound Transit which gives them an extremely large area of coverage and seamless transits making travel even from Olympia to Downtown Seattle (Nearly 70 miles) quite realistic.

This is a REALLY good start and gives us hope so don't get me wrong Im not knocking this, I'm just hoping that these counties don't intend on just "throwing money at it" and expecting it all to work because it's going to take a bit more than that... there will need to be close collaboration as to how these systems will be providing services as well....also I am hoping to see a rail system expansion / or commuter rail emerge from this as well.

Sound Transit operates much like GRTA/SRTA. In that it does not run local bus, only express bus (and in their case commuter rail and light rail.) King County Metro runs local bus, ART/BRT, and Express in King County, WA. ArcGIS Web Application
Seattle has the layered approach of transit, that many posters have been discussing.

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by cqholt

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2018-01-03: Once shunned, mass transit now priority for lawmakers

Lawmakers say they’re not inclined to subsidize transit operations. Instead, they’ve discussed finding a dedicated funding source for capital projects.
“I think the state’s role would be capital construction,” said state Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. “We do billion-dollar projects, and we’re pretty good at it.”

That doesn't sound like investment in a bus based solution, they're thinking about rail.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

That doesn't sound like investment in a bus based solution, they're thinking about rail.

Instead of MARTA, CCT, GCT, and SRTA competing for FTA funds, I can see this bill organizing the planning and funding of those large capital projects, therefore getting something like a Top End transit line built.