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Right...it's only in the top 10 most heavily-used rail systems in the U.S.
Besides, Atlanta isn't the only city in the South outside of FL and TX with rail transit. New Orleans, Charlotte, Memphis, Nashville, Little Rock, and Norfolk each have some kind of rail system.
Yeah, "some kind of rail system." I meant a complex, high-ridership, heavy-rail/subway/rapid transit system. All those other systems you mentioned are all single-line or very lightly used.
There are 15 heavy rail/subway systems in the U.S., so being in the top 10 isn't saying much (MARTA is 7th, which is misleading since 5 of the 8 systems below it are augmented by other rail transit services while MARTA is not). Also, Atlanta is still heavily car dependent. I've also heard (please don't quote me on this) that MARTA is still unpopular with many residents, struggles for government funding and expansion, and is targeted towards a single demographic. Even still, let's assume that MARTA is "heavily" used, the other few Southern systems you mention all have dismal ridership.
From Forbes:
"Last year, only 5.3% of America's 140 million laborers used mass transit to get to work...Only 15 metropolitan statistical areas...with at least 275,000 inhabitants [had] a mass transit rate better than the national average. Notable absentees included large metro areas such as Atlanta, where a mere 3.7% of workers commuted via mass transit; and Dallas, where only 1.7% of workers did."
Yeah, "some kind of rail system." I meant a complex, high-ridership, heavy-rail/subway/rapid transit system. All those other systems you mentioned are all single-line or very lightly used.
There are 15 heavy rail/subway systems in the U.S., so being in the top 10 isn't saying much (MARTA is 7th, which is misleading since 5 of the 8 systems below it are augmented by other rail transit services while MARTA is not). Also, Atlanta is still heavily car dependent. I've also heard (please don't quote me on this) that MARTA is still unpopular with many residents, struggles for government funding and expansion, and is targeted towards a single demographic. Even still, let's assume that MARTA is "heavily" used, the other few Southern systems you mention all have dismal ridership.
From Forbes:
"Last year, only 5.3% of America's 140 million laborers used mass transit to get to work...Only 15 metropolitan statistical areas...with at least 275,000 inhabitants [had] a mass transit rate better than the national average. Notable absentees included large metro areas such as Atlanta, where a mere 3.7% of workers commuted via mass transit; and Dallas, where only 1.7% of workers did."
Single demographic? Assume that is is "heavily" used?
You really need to get out of your little D.C. bubble before you comment on things you know little to nothing about.
Despite only serving the two core counties of the metro area, this system is ranked 7th Nationally for rail ridership. For the 9th-10th largest metro. In a metro where MOST do not have access to it. Ridership that is more than the combined total of several peer cities.
Not every metro area has access to the Federal $$$ that yours enjoys.
Before you get red in the face, this isn't thread to further split up ideals on the north and south. This is just a thread to see which region of the country is best just by C-D forumers.....
We should have our own personal civil war on this forum.
NOT the kind of war we had back in the 1860's, but "war" of which region is best overall in these 7 common categories....
- Best group of skylines
- Best Food
- Best weather
- Best transportation (traffic and rail systems)
- Best in sports
- Best culture
- Best cities
And instead of this being a "war" between the north and south, we're gonna make this a nation wide thing. It's the Northeast vs. South vs. Midwest vs. West.
Northeast States (New England, NY, Penn, Jersey, Delaware, Maryland)
Southern States (the Virginias, the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, Tenn, Kentucky, Miss, 'Bama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas)
Midwest States (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Mizzou, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Oklahoma)
Western States (New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Wyomming, Idaho, Montana, Cali, Nevada, Oregon, Washington,Utah, Hawaii, Alaska)
As a native midwesterner, the only states I consider to be midwest are the Great Lakes states. Everything else is far too far west or south.
Single demographic? Assume that is is "heavily" used?
You really need to get out of your little D.C. bubble before you comment on things you know little to nothing about.
Despite only serving the two core counties of the metro area, this system is ranked 7th Nationally for rail ridership. For the 9th-10th largest metro. In a metro where MOST do not have access to it. Ridership that is more than the combined total of several peer cities.
Not every metro area has access to the Federal $$$ that yours enjoys.
Did you even read my post? You're just repeating everything I said. I already said it was ranked 7th, and also said why that didn't mean much. I also specifically said not to quote me on it being "single demographic" as I've only heard that from unofficial sources.
You know when I originally mentioned MARTA, I wasn't putting down the system, but pointing out that it was the only real transit system in the South, albeit one not used to its full potential. Why do people love to take offense at the slightest things? There's negatives about every system, including the ones here in DC and Baltimore.
As for your remark about federal $$$. Metro (the WMATA) doesn't have a farebox recovery and state and local government $. The capital budget dedicated stream of funding. The operational budget is funded 100% by is funded by the feds, just like every other system in the country, including MARTA.
Since you're so all-knowing, I suppose that you realize that your own state won't contribute a dime towards MARTA, while practically every other system in the country gets at least some money from it's host state. So maybe you should whine about why Georgia doesn't fund MARTA. The dedicated tax thing isn't a bad idea though...until a recession comes along and screws everything up.
Maybe you should take a stroll and get out of your Atlanta bubble? lol
I know it's a cop out, but I wish there was a way to vote for all four. I love them all, but for separate reasons. The food, however, I could eat happily in every region, but since the northeast is my home, I'd probably be somewhat partial to the cuisine. As far as natural beauty, I'd give an advantage to the Rocky Mountain plus Pacific states, although I really love the Great Plains. If you are looking to raise children, I'd lean midwest and northeast, if you are looking to retire, I'd lean south and west.
Oh wow, all regions are unique... it is very hard to decided but I would limit it to: the Northeast and the West as most of my favorite cities are within those areas.
Did you even read my post? You're just repeating everything I said. I already said it was ranked 7th, and also said why that didn't mean much. I also specifically said not to quote me on it being "single demographic" as I've only heard that from unofficial sources.
You know when I originally mentioned MARTA, I wasn't putting down the system, but pointing out that it was the only real transit system in the South, albeit one not used to its full potential. Why do people love to take offense at the slightest things? There's negatives about every system, including the ones here in DC and Baltimore.
As for your remark about federal $$$. Metro (the WMATA) doesn't have a farebox recovery and state and local government $. The capital budget dedicated stream of funding. The operational budget is funded 100% by is funded by the feds, just like every other system in the country, including MARTA.
Since you're so all-knowing, I suppose that you realize that your own state won't contribute a dime towards MARTA, while practically every other system in the country gets at least some money from it's host state. So maybe you should whine about why Georgia doesn't fund MARTA. The dedicated tax thing isn't a bad idea though...until a recession comes along and screws everything up.
Maybe you should take a stroll and get out of your Atlanta bubble? lol
The bottom line is...why must people criticize and/or pretend to know about things that they very obviously don't know about? There is really no reason for you to try and discuss a transit system that you aren't familiar with other than through hearsay.
The D.C. Metro is not a Northeastern U.S. transit system, I'm sorry to tell you. If anything, it isn't part of a region at all. The Northeast U.S. has 3 cities with heavy-use rail systems in place: Philly, NYC, and Boston. The South has only 1 city, but several with expanding systems.
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Right...it's only in the top 10 most heavily-used rail systems in the U.S. 
