Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority

"MARTA" redirects here. For other uses, see MARTA (disambiguation).

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
MARTA Rail System
System map
Overview
Locale	Atlanta, Georgia
Transit type	Bus Bus rapid transit (2025) Paratransit Rapid transit (heavy rail) Streetcar
Number of lines	Bus: 100 Bus rapid transit: 1 (2025) Rail rapid transit: 4 Streetcar: 1
Number of stations	38 (rail) 12 (streetcar)
Daily ridership	202,600 (total, weekdays, Q1 2024) 99,900 (bus, weekdays, Q1 2024) 92,900 (rail, weekdays, Q1 2024) 700 (streetcar, weekdays, Q1 2024)
Annual ridership	64,306,800 (total, 2023) 32,285,600 (bus, 2023) 31,110,300 (rail, 2023) 184,500 (streetcar, 2023)
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia
Website	itsmarta.com
Operation
Began operation	February 17, 1972 (1972-02-17) (buses) June 30, 1979 (1979-06-30) (rail)
Technical
System length	48 mi (77 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail, 750 V DC (rapid transit) Overhead line, 750 V DC (streetcar)
Top speed	70 mph (110 km/h)

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA /ˈmɑːrtə/) is the principal public transport operator in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting of 48 miles (77 km) of rail track with 38 subway stations. MARTA's rapid transit system is the eighth-largest rapid transit system in the United States by ridership.

MARTA operates almost exclusively in Fulton, Clayton, and DeKalb counties, although they maintain bus service to two destinations in neighboring Cobb County (Six Flags Over Georgia and the Cumberland Transfer Center next to the Cumberland Mall), while Doraville station serves portions of Gwinnett County via Ride Gwinnett buses. MARTA also operates Mobility, a separate paratransit service for disabled customers.

In 2023, the entire system (bus and subway lines) had 64,306,800 rides, or about 202,600 per weekday in the first quarter of 2024. MARTA's first bus rapid transit (BRT) line is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in Summer 2025. The 5-mile line will run from downtown Atlanta, through Summerhill, and end at the Atlanta BeltLine. The line, named the "Summerhill BRT Line", will utilize new electric buses.

History

Main article: History of Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority

Map of the initial plan of the MARTA system from 1976

MARTA was originally proposed as a rapid transit agency for DeKalb, Fulton, Clayton, Gwinnett, and Cobb counties. These were the five original counties in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and to this day are the five largest counties in the region and state. MARTA was formed by an act of the Georgia General Assembly in 1965. In the same year, four of the five metropolitan area counties (Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett) and the City of Atlanta passed a referendum authorizing participation in the system, but the referendum failed in Cobb.

Although a 1968 referendum to actually fund MARTA failed, in 1971, voters in Fulton and DeKalb counties successfully passed a 1% sales tax increase to pay for MARTA operations, while Clayton and Gwinnett counties overwhelmingly rejected the tax in the referendum. Gwinnett County remains outside of the MARTA system. In November 2014, however, Clayton County voters passed a 1% sales tax to join the MARTA system, reversing its 1971 decision. Also in 1971, the agency agreed to purchase the existing, bus-only Atlanta Transit Company; the sale of the company closed on February 17, 1972, giving the agency control over all public transit in the immediate Atlanta area.

Construction began on MARTA's heavy rail system in 1975, with the first rail service commencing on June 30, 1979. The system has since built most of the proposed rail lines, as well as stations in Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, and North Springs, which were not included in the original plan. The missing rail segments from the original plan include a Tucker-North DeKalb line with service to Emory University and North Druid Hills, a Northwest line with service to Brookwood and Northside Drive, the extension of the West line to Brownlee-Boulder Park near Fairburn Road, the extension of the Proctor Creek line to West Highlands, and a branch off the south line to Hapeville and Clayton County.

Georgia State University was contracted to undergo archaeological excavations of rail construction areas in the late 1970s with the MARTA Archeology Project. Artifacts from the excavations are still housed at GSU.

System

Interactive map of the MARTA rail system and the Atlanta Streetcar

MARTA is composed of a heavy rail rapid transit system, a light rail system, and a bus system, all of which operate primarily within the boundaries of Fulton, Clayton and DeKalb counties. In addition to Atlanta itself, the transit agency serves various suburbs within its service area, including Alpharetta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, College Park, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, East Point, Ellenwood, Fairburn, Forest Park, Hapeville, Jonesboro, Lake City, Lovejoy, Lithonia, Morrow, Palmetto, Riverdale, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain, and Union City. MARTA also serves the airport via a station located next to the main terminal. Although Cobb County is not part of the MARTA system, the agency operates one limited bus route to the Cumberland Boulevard Transfer Center and another to Six Flags Over Georgia.

MARTA allows bicycles on its trains, and buses have room for two bicycles on racks mounted on the front of the bus. At the airport, bicycles can be locked up in all of the parking decks, so long as they are not obstructing either pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

In 2007, MARTA had 4,729 full and part-time employees, of whom 1,719 were bus drivers or train operators. Rail and bus operators, station agents, rail maintenance workers, and many other employees of MARTA are represented in negotiations by the Amalgamated Transit Union's Local 732.

Subway/Metro

Main article: MARTA rail

MARTA's rapid transit system has 47.6 miles (76.6 km) of route and 38 rail stations located on four lines: the Red Line (prior to October 2009, known as the North-South Line), Gold Line (former Northeast-South Line), Blue Line (former East-West Line), and Green Line (former Proctor Creek Line). The tracks for this system are a combination of elevated, ground-level, and subway tracks.

The deepest Subway station in the MARTA system is the Peachtree Center station, which is located in a hard-rock tunnel, 120 feet (37 m) beneath the city, where the highest hills in Atlanta are 1,100 feet (340 m) above sea level. No tunnel lining was installed in this station, or the adjacent tunnels. The architects and civil engineers decided to leave these with their rugged gneiss rock walls. The highest station in the MARTA system is the King Memorial station. It rises 90 feet (27 m) over a former CSX rail yard.

MARTA switched to a color-based identification system in October 2009. Formerly, the lines were named based upon their terminal stations, namely: Airport, Doraville, North Springs, H. E. Holmes, Bankhead, King Memorial, Candler Park, Indian Creek; or by their compass direction. During the transition between the two naming systems, all stations on the Red and Gold lines used their original orange signs, and all stations on the Blue and Green lines used their original blue signs.

All rapid transit lines have an ultimate nexus at the Five Points station, located in downtown Atlanta. MARTA trains are operated using the Automatic Train Control system, with one human operator per train to make announcements, operate doors, and to operate the trains manually in case of a control system malfunction or an emergency. Many of the suburban stations have free daily and paid long-term parking in park and ride lots. These stations also have designated Park and Ride passenger drop-off areas close to the stations' entrances.

Streetcar

Main article: Atlanta Streetcar

The Atlanta Streetcar is a modern streetcar route that is powered by an overhead line and operates in mixed vehicle traffic. The system was constructed by the City of Atlanta and was integrated into MARTA operations on July 1, 2018. The streetcar operates on a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) pinched loop system in Downtown Atlanta.

Rolling stock

Atlanta Streetcar near the original Ebenezer Baptist Church, Sweet Auburn

The Atlanta Streetcar system uses Siemens S70 light rail vehicles (LRVs). A total of four S70 cars were purchased and were built at two different facilities; the cars themselves were built in Sacramento, California while most other major components, like the propulsion system, were assembled at a plant about 30 miles (48 km) north of Atlanta, in Alpharetta. They were delivered in the first months of 2014 and are numbered 1001–1004.

Bus

Main article: List of MARTA bus routes

2013 MARTA Xcelsior 1469 on the 1 Bus leaving North Avenue station.

MARTA's bus system serves a wider area than the rail system, serving areas in Fulton, Clayton and DeKalb counties such as the cities of Roswell and Alpharetta in North Fulton, along with South DeKalb. MARTA bus service for Clayton County became effective March 21, 2015. As of 2010, MARTA has 554 diesel and compressed natural gas buses that covers over 110 bus routes that operated 25.9 million annual vehicle miles (41.7 million kilometers). MARTA has one bus route providing limited service in Cobb County (Route 12 has been extended to Cobb County's Cumberland Boulevard Transfer Center). As of June 2016, MARTA purchased 18 New Flyer Industries Xcelsior XN60, which are primarily used on route 39 Buford Highway, the busiest bus route in the system. All of the MARTA bus lines, except for routes 142, 197 and 198, feed into or intersect MARTA rail lines as well. MARTA shuttle service is available to Six Flags Over Georgia during the park's summer season.

In addition to the free parking adjacent to many rail stations, MARTA also operates five park and ride lots serviced only by bus routes (Windward Parkway, Mansell Road, Stone Mountain, Barge Road, and South Fulton).

Route list

Route Name	Terminal 1	Terminal 2	via	Length	Notes
1 Marietta Boulevard / Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard	West End West End station	Bolton Marietta Boulevard & Moores Mill Road at Moores Mill Shopping Center	Marietta Boulevard, Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard	6.9 miles (11.1 km)	Operates out of Perry Bus Facility
2 Ponce de Leon Avenue / Druid Hills	Midtown North Avenue station	Oakhurst East Lake station	Ponce de Leon Avenue, East Lake Road	4.9 miles (7.9 km)	Operates out of Laredo Bus Facility
3 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive / Auburn Ave	Old Fourth Ward John Wesley Dobbs Avenue & Howell Street	Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	Auburn Avenue (EB), Edgewood Avenue (WB), Martin Luther King Jr. Drive	7.0 miles (11.3 km)	Operates out of Perry Bus Facility.
4 Moreland Avenue	Inman Park/Reynoldstown Inman Park/Reynoldstown station	Norwood Manor Constitution Road & Jonesboro Road	Moreland Avenue	7.2 miles (11.6 km)	Trips alternate between each branch Operates out of Laredo Bus Facility
		Rebel Valley Forest Redford Drive & Rebel Forest Drive		7.3 miles (11.7 km)
5 Piedmont Road / Sandy Springs	Lindbergh/Morosgo Lindbergh Center station	Dunwoody Dunwoody station/Perimeter Mall	Piedmont Road, Roswell Road	9.8 miles (15.8 km)	Operates out of Perry Bus Facility
6 Clifton Road / Emory		Inman Park/Reynoldstown Inman Park/Reynoldstown station	Clifton Road, Briarcliff Road	8.3 miles (13.4 km) Lavista Road branch	Trips alternate between each branch
				8.8 miles (14.2 km) Woodland Avenue branch
8 North Druid Hills Road	Brookhaven Brookhaven/Oglethorpe station	Kensington Kensington station	North Druid Hills Road	11.3 miles (18.2 km)	Operates out of Laredo Bus Facility
9 Boulevard / Tilson Road	Oakland King Memorial station	Panthersville Gallery at South DeKalb	Boulevard, Custer Avenue, Tilson Road	10.9 miles (17.5 km)
12 Howell Mill Road / Cumberland	Midtown Midtown station	Cumberland Cumberland Transfer Center	10th Street, Howell Mill Road	11.1 miles (17.9 km)
14 14th Street / Blandtown		Bolton Marietta Boulevard & Moores Mill Road at Moores Mill Shopping Center	14th Street, Chattahoochee Avenue, Marietta Boulevard	5.7 miles (9.2 km)
15 Candler Road	Decatur Decatur station	Woodcrest Panthersville Road & Bouldercrest Road	Candler Road, Panthersville Road, River Road, Bouldercrest Road	11.6 miles (18.7 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
		Stonecrest Linecrest Road & 3800		11.6 miles (18.7 km)
19 Clairmont Road / Howard Avenue	Chamblee Chamblee station	Oakhurst East Lake station	Clairmont Road, Howard Avenue	10.9 miles (17.5 km)
21 Memorial Drive	Downtown Five Points station	Kensington Kensington station	Memorial Drive	10.0 miles (16.1 km)
24 McAfee / Hosea Williams	Edgewood/Candler Park Edgewood/Candler Park station	Stone Mountain Indian Creek station	Hosea L. Williams Drive, McAfee Road, Indian Creek Drive	14.6 miles (23.5 km)
25 Peachtree Boulevard	Brookhaven Brookhaven/Oglethorpe station	Doraville Doraville station	Peachtree (Industrial) Boulevard	6.6 miles (10.6 km)
26 Marietta Street / Perry Boulevard	Downtown Five Points station	Riverside Bolton Road & Parrott Avenue	Marietta Street, Perry Boulevard	10.5 miles (16.9 km) Perry Boulevard branch	Trips alternate between each branch During special events, buses do not serve downtown and are rerouted to the North Avenue station
				11.1 miles (17.9 km) McCallie Boulevard branch
27 Cheshire Bridge Road	Midtown Arts Center station	Lenox Lenox station	Piedmont Avenue, Cheshire Bridge Road (Lenox Road)	5.7 miles (9.2 km)
30 LaVista Road	Lindbergh/Morosgo Lindbergh Center station	Northlake Ranchwood Drive & Weems Road at Northlake Mall	Lavista Road	9.6 miles (15.4 km)
32 Bouldercrest	Inman Park/Reynoldstown Inman Park/Reynoldstown station	Ellenwood SouthPark Industrial Park (S. Park Boulevard & 3060)	Bouldercrest Road	12.7 miles (20.4 km)
34 Gresham Road	Oakhurst East Lake station	Decatur Perimeter College at Georgia State University	2nd Avenue, Gresham Road, Clifton Springs Road	7.6 miles (12.2 km)	Rush hour trips alternate between each branch
				8.0 miles (12.9 km) Vee Kirk branch
				9.2 miles (14.8 km) Vicki Lane branch
36 N Decatur Road / Virginia Highland	Midtown Midtown station	Decatur Decatur station	10th Street, Highland Avenue, (North) Decatur Road	9.1 miles (14.6 km)
37 Defoors Ferry Road	Midtown Arts Center station	Bolton Marietta Boulevard & Moores Mill Road at Moores Mill Shopping Center	17th Street, Defoor Avenue (Defoors Ferry Road)	6.2 miles (10.0 km)
39 Buford Highway	Lindbergh/Morosgo Lindbergh Center station	Doraville Doraville station	Buford Highway	8.4 miles (13.5 km)
40 Peachtree Street / Downtown	Midtown Arts Center station	West End West End station	Peachtree Street	5.2 miles (8.4 km)
42 Pryor Road	Downtown Five Points station	Sylvan Hills Lakewood/Fort McPherson station	Pryor Street (SB), Central Avenue (NB), Pryor Road, Arthur B. Langford Jr. Parkway	8.5 miles (13.7 km)	Trips alternate between mainline and Cooper Street branch rush hours in the peak direction. Trips alternate between Amal Drive and mainline weekdays.
				8.9 miles (14.3 km) Cooper Street branch
				9.0 miles (14.5 km) Amal Drive branch
47 I-85 Access Road	Brookhaven Brookhaven/Oglethorpe station	Chamblee Chamblee station	Briarwood Road, I-85 Access Road	9.7 miles (15.6 km)
49 McDonough Boulevard	Downtown Five Points station	Constitution Metro Regional Youth Detention Center	McDonough Boulevard, Moreland Avenue	7.9 miles (12.7 km) McDonough Boulevard branch	Trips alternate between each branch
				8.1 miles (13.0 km) Englewood Avenue branch
50 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway	Midtown North Avenue station	Bankhead UPS Distribution Center	North Avenue, Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway	7.8 miles (12.6 km)	Trips alternate between each branch Operates out of Perry Bus Facility
				8.2 miles (13.2 km) English Avenue branch
51 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard		Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	Joseph E. Boone Boulevard, Hamilton E. Holmes Drive	6.6 miles (10.6 km) Luckie Street branch	Trips alternate between each branch During special events, trips run via Northside Drive & North Avenue
				6.6 miles (10.6 km) Centennial Olympic Park Drive branch
55 Jonesboro Road	Downtown Five Points station	Forest Park Forest Parkway & Bartlett Drive at Forest Square Shopping Center	Hank Aaron Drive, Jonesboro Road	13.1 miles (21.1 km)
58 Hollywood Road / Lucile Avenue	West End West End station	Riverside James Jackson Parkway & Bolton Road	Lucile Avenue, West Lake Avenue, Hollywood Road	9.1 miles (14.6 km)	Select trips run on Argyle Drive branch during peak rush hours.
				9.6 miles (15.4 km) Argyle Drive branch
60 Hightower Road	Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	Bolton Marietta Boulevard & Moores Mill Road at Moores Mill Shopping Center	Hamilton E. Holmes Drive (Hightower Road), Hollywood Road, Bolton Road	6.7 miles (10.8 km)
66 Lynhurst Drive / Princeton Lakes		Princeton Lakes North Commerce Drive & Marketplace Boulevard	Lynhurst Drive, Camp Creek Parkway	13.3 miles (21.4 km)
68 Benjamin E Mays Drive	Vine City Ashby station	Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	Beecher Road, Benjamin E Mays Drive	11.9 miles (19.2 km)
71 Cascade Road	West End West End station	Ashley Courts Kimberly Road & Fairly Way	Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, Cascade Road	7.2 miles (11.6 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
		South Fulton Boat Rock Road & Reynolds Road		11.7 miles (18.8 km)
73 Fulton Industrial	Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	West Atlanta West Park Place & Westpark Drive	Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Fulton Industrial Boulevard	9.2 miles (14.8 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
		West Atlanta LaGrange Boulevard & Boat Rock Road		10.2 miles (16.4 km)
74 Flat Shoals Road	Inman Park/Reynoldstown Inman Park/Reynoldstown Station	Panthersville Rainbow Way & Candler Road	Moreland Avenue, Flat Shoals Road	8.2 miles (13.2 km) Bull Run Drive branch	Trips alternate between each branch.
				8.5 miles (13.7 km) Whites Mill Road branch
75 Lawrenceville Highway	Avondale Estates Avondale Station	Tucker Tuckerstone Parkway & Mountain Industrial Boulevard	Dekalb Industrial Way, Lawrenceville Highway	10.8 miles (17.4 km)
78 Cleveland Avenue	East Point East Point station	Browns Mill Park/Rosedale Heights Cleveland Avenue & Jonesboro Road	Cleveland Avenue	5.7 miles (9.2 km)
79 Sylvan Hills	Oakland City Oakland City station	East Point East Point station	Sylvan Road, Springdale Road, Cleveland Avenue	7.8 miles (12.6 km)
81 Venetian Hills / Delowe Drive	West End West End station		Delowe Drive, Headland Drive	13.6 miles (21.9 km)
82 Camp Creek / South Fulton Parkway	College Park College Park station	Union City Derrick Industrial Parkway & Derrick Industrial Drive (Walmart Distribution Center)	Camp Creek Parkway, Welcome All Road, South Fulton Parkway	15.4 miles (24.8 km)
83 Campbellton Road	Oakland City Oakland City station	Ben Hill Acres Barge Road Park & Ride	Campbellton Road, Greenbriar Parkway	6.3 miles (10.1 km)	Operates out of Hamilton Bus Facility
84 Washington Road / Camp Creek Marketplace	East Point East Point station	Princeton Lakes Camp Creek Marketplace (Centre Parkway & 1800)	Washington Road, North Commerce Drive	8.7 miles (14.0 km)
85 Roswell	Sandy Springs North Springs station	Alpharetta Mansell Park & Ride	Turner McDonald Parkway, Dunwoody Place, Atlanta Street (Alpharetta Street), Mansell Road	10.3 miles (16.6 km)
86 Fairington Road	Kensington Kensington station	Stonecrest Hillandale Drive & Hillandale Park Drive	Snapfinger Road (Snapfinger Woods Drive), Fairington Road	12.0 miles (19.3 km)	Early morning and alternate AM rush hour trips
		Stonecrest The Mall at Stonecrest		16.2 miles (26.1 km)
87 Roswell Road / Sandy Springs	Dunwoody Dunwoody station/Perimeter Mall	Sandy Springs North Springs station	Hammond Drive, Roswell Drive, Turner McDonald Parkway	12.5 miles (20.1 km)
89 Old National Highway	College Park College Park station	Union City Lancaster Lane & Shannon Parkway (Atlanta Metro Studios)	Old National Highway, Jonesboro Road	13.0 miles (20.9 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
		Riverdale Riverdale Park & Ride		13.5 miles (21.7 km)
93 Headland Drive / Main Street		Brentwood/Greenbriar Camp Creek Parkway & 3540 (Royal Oaks Apartments)	Main Street, Headland Drive	9.2 miles (14.8 km)
94 Northside Drive	West End West End station	Midtown Arts Center station	Northside Drive, 17th Street	6.4 miles (10.3 km)
95 Metropolitan Parkway		Hapeville King Arnold Street & Claire Drive	Metropolitan Parkway	7.1 miles (11.4 km)
102 North Avenue / Little Five Points	Midtown North Avenue station	Edgewood/Candler Park Edgewood/Candler Park station	North Avenue, Ponce de Leon Avenue, Moreland Avenue	4.3 miles (6.9 km)
103 Peeler Road	Chamblee Chamblee station	Peachtree Corners Winters Chapel Road & 4830 (DeKalb County Water Works & Scott Candler Filter Plant)	Shallowford Road, Peeler Road	7.2 miles (11.6 km)
104 Winters Chapel Road	Doraville Doraville station	North Doraville Winters Chapel Road & Clarke Drive (Consulate of El Salvador & Consulate of Honduras)	New Peachtree Road, Winters Chapel Road, Peachtree Industrial Boulevard	4.4 miles (7.1 km)
107 Glenwood	Downtown Georgia State station	Stone Mountain Indian Creek station	Memorial Drive, Glenwood Avenue (Glenwood Road)	13.5 miles (21.7 km)	Operates out of Laredo Bus Facility
110 Peachtree Road / Buckhead	Midtown Arts Center station	Brookhaven Brookhaven/Oglethorpe station	Peachtree Street (Peachtree Road)	7.2 miles (11.6 km)
111 Snapfinger Woods	Stone Mountain Indian Creek station	Stonecrest Hillandale Drive & Hillandale Park Drive	Redan Road, South Hairston Road, Snapfinger Woods Drive, Hillandale Drive	13.3 miles (21.4 km)	Select trips serve Alice Williams Towers AM Rush hour trips alternate between each terminal, otherwise, all trips go to/from Mall at Stonecrest
		Stonecrest The Mall at Stonecrest	Redan Road, South Hairston Road, Snapfinger Woods Drive, Hillandale Drive, Covington Highway	18.5 miles (29.8 km)
114 Columbia Drive	Avondale Estates Avondale station	Decatur Perimeter College at Georgia State University	Columbia Drive	8.4 miles (13.5 km)	Northbound trips serve Clifton Springs Health Center
115 Covington Highway	Kensington Kensington station	Stonecrest Covington Highway & Chupp Road	Covington Highway	10.0 miles (16.1 km)	AM rush hour trips alternate between each terminal. Otherwise, all trips go to/from Mall at Stonecrest
		Stonecrest The Mall at Stonecrest		13.4 miles (21.6 km)
116 Redan Road	Stone Mountain Indian Creek station		Redan Road, Stone Mountain Lithonia Road	12.0 miles (19.3 km)	On weekdays between 8:50 AM and 4:50 PM, northbound trips serve East DeKalb Health Center
117 Rockbridge Road / Panola Road	Avondale Estates Avondale station	Stonecrest XPRESS Panola Park & Ride	North Decatur Road (Rockbridge Road), Panola Road	15.0 miles (24.1 km)	Weekday trips serve Lou Walker Senior Center Northbound trips serve Fairington Club Drive Operates out of Laredo Bus Facility
119 Hairston Road / Stone Mountain Village	Kensington Kensington station	Stone Mountain Goldsmith Park & Ride	Redan Road, Hairston Road	10.8 miles (17.4 km)
120 East Ponce de Leon Avenue	Avondale Estates Avondale station		Ponce de Leon Avenue	8.8 miles (14.2 km)
121 Memorial Drive / North Hairston Road	Kensington Kensington station	Tucker North Royal Atlanta Drive & Commerce Place	Memorial Drive, North Hairston Road (Mountain Industrial Boulevard)	10.1 miles (16.3 km)	Trips alternate between each branch Operates out of Laredo Bus Facility
		Tucker Granite Drive & Patillo Field	Memorial Drive, North Hairston Road, Idlewood Road	10.4 miles (16.7 km)
123 Church Street	Decatur Decatur station	North Decatur North DeKalb Mall	Church Street	4.8 miles (7.7 km)	Northbound trips serve Emory Decatur Hospital via Sycamore Road, Southbound trips serve the hospital via Wash Lively Circle
124 Pleasantdale Road	Doraville Doraville station	Tucker Lawrenceville Highway & Hugh Howell Road	Buford Highway, Oakcliff Road, Pleasantdale Road (Chamblee Tucker Road)	8.3 miles (13.4 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
				9.2 miles (14.8 km) Dawson Boulevard branch
125 Clarkston	Kensington Kensington station	Northlake Briarcliff Road & Randolph Road at Northlake Mall	Indian Creek Drive (Montreal Road)	7.8 miles (12.6 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
			Indian Creek Drive, Northlake Parkway	8.7 miles (14.0 km)
126 Embry Hills	Chamblee Chamblee station	Northlake Ranchwood Drive & Weems Road at Northlake Mall	Chamblee Tucker Road, Henderson Mill Road	8.1 miles (13.0 km)
				10.9 miles (17.5 km)	Select weekday trips via Mercer University Atlanta
132 Tilly Mill Road	Chamblee Chamblee station	Dunwoody Mount Vernon Road & Jett Ferry Road	North Peachtree Road, Tilly Mill Road	6.0 miles (9.7 km)
133 Shallowford Road	Doraville Doraville station	Northlake Ranchwood Drive & Weems Road at Northlake Mall	Shallowford Road, Briarcliff Road	5.9 miles (9.5 km)
140 North Point Parkway	Sandy Springs North Springs station	Alpharetta Windward Park & Ride	Turner McDonald Parkway, North Point Parkway	13.3 miles (21.4 km)
141 Haynes Bridge Road / Milton			Turner McDonald Parkway, Haynes Bridge Road, North Main Street, Windward Parkway	15.4 miles (24.8 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
			Turner McDonald Parkway, Haynes Bridge Road, North Main Street, Deerfield Parkway	17.5 miles (28.2 km)
142 East Holcomb Bridge Road	Alpharetta Mansell Park & Ride	Norcross Spalding Drive & 7708 (Spalding Corners)	Turner McDonald Parkway, Holcomb Bridge Road	7.1 miles (11.4 km)
143 Windward Park & Ride	Sandy Springs North Springs station	Alpharetta Windward Park & Ride	Turner McDonald Parkway, Morris Road (McGinnis Ferry Road)	16.8 miles (27.0 km)	Operates to Alpharetta AM, Operates to North Springs PM
148 Mount Vernon Highway	Sandy Springs Sandy Springs station	West Sandy Springs Riveredge Parkway & 1600	Mount Vernon Highway, Powers Ferry Road	7.2 miles (11.6 km)	Weekday peak only
150 Dunwoody Village	Dunwoody Dunwoody station/Perimeter Mall	North Dunwoody Chamblee Dunwoody Road & Dunwoody Village Parkway	Perimeter Center, Ashford Dunwoody Road	4.4 miles (7.1 km)
153 James Jackson Parkway	Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	Riverside James Jackson Parkway & James Jackson Court	Hamilton E. Holmes Drive (James Jackson Parkway), Northwest Drive (NB)	5.1 miles (8.2 km)
155 Pittsburgh	West End West End station	Swallow Circle-Baywood Swallow Circle & Finch Drive	McDaniel Street, Lakewood Avenue, Harper Road	6.5 miles (10.5 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
		Polar Rock Polar Rock Terrace & Polar Rock Road	McDaniel Street, Lakewood Avenue	7.5 miles (12.1 km)
162 Myrtle Drive / Alison Court	Oakland City Oakland City station	Campbellton Road Myrtle Drive & 1881 (Campbellton Plaza & Baptist Towers)	Campbellton Road, Stanton Road	3.6 miles (5.8 km)
165 Fairburn Road	Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	Ben Hill Acres Barge Road Park & Ride	Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Fairburn Road	7.7 miles (12.4 km)
172 Sylvan Road / Virginia Avenue	Oakland City Oakland City station	College Park College Park station	Sylvan Road, Virginia Avenue	9.3 miles (15.0 km)
178 Empire Boulevard / Southside Industrial Park	Sylvan Hills Lakewood/Fort McPherson station	Glenrose Heights Hamilton Boulevard & 3400 (Hamilton Bus Facility)	Arthur B. Langford Parkway, Macon Drive, Browns Mill Road (SB), Empire Boulevard (NB)	8.1 miles (13.0 km)
180 Roosevelt Highway	College Park College Park station	Palmetto Main Street & Toombs Street	Roosevelt Highway	17.4 miles (28.0 km)	Select trips serve Georgia Military College
181 Washington Road / Fairburn	East Point East Point station	Fairburn Smith Street & Broad Street	Washington Road, Buffington Road	16.1 miles (25.9 km) Shannon Parkway branch	Trips alternate between each branch
				16.2 miles (26.1 km) Oakley Road branch
183 Greenbriar	Sylvan Hills Lakewood/Fort McPherson station	Arlington Estates/Elmco Estates County Line Road & Campbellton Road	Arthur B. Langford Parkway, Greenbriar Parkway, Campbellton Road	8.0 miles (12.9 km) (detour)	On detour from Niskey Lake and County Line Roads until further notice
185 Alpharetta	Sandy Springs North Springs station	Alpharetta Old Milton Parkway & Park Bridge Parkway (Georgia State University Alpharetta)	Turner McDonald Parkway, Alpharetta Highway, Old Milton Parkway	15.5 miles (24.9 km)
186 Rainbow Drive / South DeKalb	Downtown Five Points station	Decatur New Snapfinger Woods Drive & 4325 (Georgia Piedmont Technical College South DeKalb)	Ralph David Abernathy Freeway, Rainbow Drive	14.2 miles (22.9 km)	Select trips alternate between each branch
				14.8 miles (23.8 km) East Side Drive branch
188 Oakley Industrial	College Park College Park station	Fairburn Fairburn Park & Ride	Interstate 85, Oakley Industrial Boulevard	19.8 miles (31.9 km)
189 Flat Shoals Road / Scofield Road		South Fulton Union City Park & Ride	Old National Highway, Scofield Road, Flat Shoals Road	10.5 miles (16.9 km) Hillandale Drive branch	Trips alternate between each branch
				11.7 miles (18.8 km) Kimberly Mill Road branch
191 Riverdale / ATL International Terminal	Sylvan Hills Lakewood/Fort McPherson station	Jonesboro Harold R. Banke Justice Center	Interstate 75, Highway 85, Highway 138	24.4 miles (39.3 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
			Interstate 75, Highway 85, Flint River Road	25.8 miles (41.5 km)
192 Old Dixie / Tara Boulevard	East Point East Point station		Perry J. Hudson Parkway, Old Dixie Highway/Road (Tara Boulevard)	15.0 miles (24.1 km)
193 Morrow / Jonesboro			Forest Parkway, Jonesboro Road	18.1 miles (29.1 km)	Trips alternate between each branch
			Forest Parkway, Battle Creek Road, Tara Boulevard	19.7 miles (31.7 km)
194 Conley Road / Mount Zion	Sylvan Hills Lakewood/Fort McPherson station	Morrow Southlake Mall	Interstate 75, Conley Road, Mount Zion Boulevard/Road	19.4 miles (31.2 km)
195 Forest Parkway	College Park College Park station	Ellenwood Anvil Block Road & Lunsford Drive	Forest Parkway	16.3 miles (26.2 km)
196 Upper Riverdale		Riverdale Lamar Hucheson Parkway & Valley Hill Road	Riverdale Road, Highway 85	10.3 miles (16.6 km)	AM Rush hour trips alternate between each terminal, otherwise, all trips go to/from Southlake Mall
		Morrow Southlake Mall	Riverdale Road, Highway 85, Upper Riverdale Road, Mount Zion Road	14.6 miles (23.5 km)
197 Battle Creek Road	Riverdale Church Street & Town Center Drive (Riverdale Town Center)	Stockbridge Davidson Parkway & Davidson Circle	Valley Hill Road (Battle Creek Road), Mount Zion Road/Parkway	12.6 miles (20.3 km)
198 Southlake Parkway		Morrow Southlake Mall	Highway 138, Southlake Parkway	8.1 miles (13.0 km)
221 Memorial Drive Limited	Kensington Kensington station	Stone Mountain Juliette Road & 1551	Memorial Drive	7.6 miles (12.2 km)	No weekend service
295 Metropolitan Campus Express	Oakland City Oakland City station	Sylvan Hills Atlanta Metro State College	Dill Avenue, Metropolitan Parkway, Caspian Street	2.5 miles (4.0 km)	Operates whenever school is in session.
800 Lovejoy	Jonesboro Harold R. Banke Justice Center		Tara Boulevard, McDonough Road, Lovejoy Road	16.1 miles (25.9 km)	Community Circulator
809 Monroe Drive / Boulevard	Lindbergh/Morosgo Lindbergh Center station	Oakland King Memorial station	Monroe Drive (Boulevard)	5.9 miles (9.5 km)
				8.1 miles (13.0 km) Armour Drive branch	Select trips
813 Atlanta University Center	Downtown Georgia State station	Penelope Neighbors West Lake station	Peters Street, Atlanta Student Movement Boulevard (Fair Street), Westview Drive	5.0 miles (8.0 km)	Community Circulator
816 North Highland Avenue	Downtown Five Points station	Druid Hills Michael Street & Houston Mill Road (Emory University)	Ralph McGill Boulevard, North Highland Avenue	7.7 miles (12.4 km)
823 Belvedere	Decatur Decatur station	Belvedere Park Belvedere Lane & Rupert Road	McDonough Street, Memorial Drive	4.6 miles (7.4 km)	Community Circulator
825 Johnson Ferry Road	Sandy Springs Medical Center station	Chamblee Chamblee station	Johnson Ferry Road	4.0 miles (6.4 km)
832 Grant Park	West End West End station	Custer/McDonough/Grice Woodland Avenue & Custer Avenue	Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard (Georgia Avenue), United Avenue	6.5 miles (10.5 km)	Community Circulator
850 Carroll Heights / Fairburn Heights	Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	Northwest Atlanta Atlanta Industrial Parkway & 3755 (Atlanta Industrial Park)	Collier Drive, Fairburn Road, Atlanta Industrial Parkway	5.7 miles (9.2 km)	Select trips alternate between each branch Community Circulator
			Collier Drive, Bolton Road, Atlanta Industrial Parkway	7.1 miles (11.4 km)
853 Center Hill	Penelope Neighbors West Lake station	Collier Heights Skipper Drive & Skipper Place	North Avenue (Baker Road), Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway	8.0 miles (12.9 km)	Community Circulator
856 Baker Hills / Wilson Hills Meadows	Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	Wilson Hills Meadows Alex Drive & Alex Way	Burton Road, Collier Drive	5.6 miles (9.0 km)
865 Boulder Park Drive		Ridgecrest Forest Dollar Mill Road & Boulder Park Drive	Burton Road, Delmar Lane, Boulder Park Drive	5.4 miles (8.7 km)
867 Peyton Forest / Dixie Hills	Penelope Neighbors West Lake station	Harland Terrace Hamilton E. Holmes station	Martin Luther King Jr. Drive	6.9 miles (11.1 km)
899 Old Fourth Ward	Downtown Georgia State station	Midtown North Avenue station	Jackson Street, North Avenue	4.0 miles (6.4 km)

Paratransit

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), MARTA provides the Mobility paratransit service for those persons defined as disabled by the ADA. MARTA uses 211 special lift-equipped vehicles for this service, and can either deliver passengers to their final destination (curb-to-curb service) or can deliver the passenger to the closest accessible bus stop or rail station (feeder service). Mobility is limited to existing rail and bus routes and cannot extend more than a 0.75-mile (1.2 km) radius from any existing route. Mobility service is only provided during the hours of the fixed route servicing the area. An application for acceptance into the Mobility service is required; reservations are required for each trip. In fiscal year 2006, MARTA provided 289,258 Mobility trips.

The average cost to MARTA for providing a one-way trip for an individual Mobility passenger is US$31.88. This is much greater than the US$4.00 fare the Mobility rider is required to pay. The Americans with Disabilities Act forbids MARTA from charging a Mobility fare more than twice the normal fixed route fare.

A 2001 federal civil lawsuit, Martin v. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, was brought by several disabled riders who alleged MARTA was violating the ADA by failing to provide: bus schedule and route information in an accessible format, buses with working wheelchair lifts, stop announcements on rail and bus routes, and adequate staff to schedule and provide on-time Mobility service. The district court ruled in 2002 that MARTA had violated the ADA and granted the plaintiffs an injunction requiring MARTA to improve service to the disabled.

Fare structure and operation

A MARTA single one-way fare token; tokens have since been replaced by the Breeze Card

Currently, the one-way full fare for MARTA costs US$2.50. New Breeze cards are $2. Breeze Tickets carry an extra fee of $1. Passengers over 65, passengers with disabilities and Medicare recipients are eligible to receive a discounted fare of $1. A one-way paratransit fare is $4. Ten full fare one-way trips can be purchased for $25, and twenty full fare trips can be purchased at a discount for $42.50. MARTA also offers unlimited travel through multiple transit pass options: 24-Hour pass $9, 2-day pass $14, 3-day pass $16, 4-day pass $19, 7-day pass $23.75, and a 30-day pass for $95. Additional discounted pass programs allow for university students and staff to purchase calendar monthly passes. Additional discounts are available to corporate partners who sell monthly MARTA passes to employees and also to groups and conventions visiting Atlanta. Some employers (at their own expense) also provide reduced cost or free MARTA passes to employees to encourage the use of public transportation. Children up to 46 inches (120 cm) can ride for free with fare-paying rider; limit is 2.

Free shuttles also operate within the MARTA area, but are not part of MARTA. The Buckhead Uptown Connection (The BUC) goes around Buckhead, Atlanta's uptown section and its third major business district behind downtown and midtown. This includes Lenox Square mall and the many high-rises and skyscrapers built along Peachtree Road. The Atlantic Station Shuttle offers service between the Arts Center MARTA Station and the Atlantic Station neighborhood of Midtown. Georgia Tech operates the Tech trolley between central campus, Technology Square, and the Midtown MARTA Station, as well as "Stinger" buses around its campus. Emory University operates "The Cliff" shuttle buses in and around its campus. The Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association (CCTMA) operates a shuttle connecting Emory with downtown Decatur and the Decatur MARTA station.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, in March 2020 MARTA introduced free fares to bus rides, which ended early September 2020. The free fare modification did not apply to rail fares.

Breeze Card

Main article: Breeze Card

MARTA finished implementing the "Breeze" smart card electronic fare collection system in September 2006, replacing the previous token-based fare collection system. The new Breeze Card allows riders to load money on the card for use over time, and to add unlimited day passes that are not fixed to a calendar period. The Breeze Card is for every passenger riding MARTA. The new Breeze fare gates are designed to help prevent fare evasion; with the older fare collection system fare evasion was much easier and was estimated to cost MARTA $10 million per year. Other connecting transit systems such as GRTA Xpress and CobbLinc also use the Breeze system.

MARTA stopped selling tokens after the Breeze conversion. Cards (without fare) were sent by mail for free to those who requested them when the system was first implemented.

To protect against hacking problems experienced by the then-current Breeze Card, MARTA rolled out a new Breeze Card in January 2016. The new card costs $2.

Hours of operation

MARTA train at North Avenue station

CQ310 switching tracks heading southbound from Lakewood station

MARTA operates every day. Rail service is provided from approximately 4:45 am to 1:00 am, Monday to Friday, and 6:00 am to 1:00 am on Saturday, Sunday & most holidays. During certain events (New Year's Eve) trains run until 2:00 a.m. (Trains also run all night during winter storms, though not in passenger service, to prevent ice from forming on non-underground lines.) On weekdays, trains run every 20 minutes on all rail lines from the beginning of service until 6:00 am. From 6:00 am-9:00 am and 3:00 pm-7:00 pm, trains run every 10 minutes on all rail lines. From 9:00 am-3:00 pm and 7:00 pm-8:30 pm, trains run every 12 minutes on all rail lines. From 8:30 pm until the end of service, trains run every 20 minutes on all rail lines. MARTA's Red Line rail service only operates between North Springs and Lindbergh Center stations after 8:30 pm. MARTA's Green Line rail service only operates between Bankhead and Vine City stations after 8:30 pm; Monday-Friday (with the exception of public holidays and track work performed by the authority). On weekends and public holidays, trains run every 20 minutes on all rail lines. Bus routes have varying frequencies dependent upon passenger demand.

Fare reciprocity

Through formal fare reciprocity agreements, MARTA riders are able to transfer for free to the three other metro-Atlanta transit systems: Ride Gwinnett, CobbLinc and GRTA Xpress. Some of these agreements require that neither system have significantly more transfers than the other. MARTA has stated that this is the case, that inbound (to MARTA from another system) and outbound (from MARTA to another system) transfers are approximately equal (for second quarter 2006, 8888 daily passengers transferred inbound and 8843 transferred outbound). Analysis of morning transfers (5 to 9 am) to MARTA shows that Cobb County had 718 inbound transfers but only 528 outbound, Gwinnett County had 239 inbound and 269 outbound, and GRTA Xpress had 1,175 inbound but 615 outbound. Some have suggested that more people from the other systems may benefit from free transfers than those living in the MARTA service area. It has also been noted that workers traveling in the morning to Atlanta from another system will more than likely make the return trip home, resulting in an equal number of transfers.

Funding

Sales tax

In addition to fare collections, the MARTA budget is funded by a 1% sales tax in Fulton, Clayton and DeKalb counties along with limited federal money. In 2017, the City of Atlanta raised their sales tax for MARTA to 1.5% to improve and expand MARTA. For fiscal year 2007, MARTA had a farebox recovery ratio of 31.8%. By law, funds from the 1% sales tax must be split evenly between MARTA's operational and Capital expenditure budgets. This restriction does not apply to other sources of revenue, including passenger revenue. The split was written into MARTA legislation at MARTA's formation with the rationale that MARTA should continue expanding and investing in the system. Nonetheless, MARTA has no active heavy rail construction projects. Capital funds continue to decrease every year, creating a shortfall. The operations funds limit the amount of service MARTA provides. The sales tax law was amended by the state legislature in 2002 to allow a temporary three-year 45% capital/55% operations split. This additional 5% for operations expired in 2005. A 2005 bill to renew the split was tabled by the legislature's MARTA Oversight Committee, forcing MARTA to pass a new budget with cuts in service. The temporary 45%/55% capital/operations split was renewed again in the 2006 state legislative session. The capital funds surplus has resulted in projects, such as a new US$100 million Breeze Card fare collection system and US$1.1 million automatic toilets in the MARTA Five Points station, occurring at the same time that MARTA is struggling to pay for bus and rail operations. In 2015, the Georgia General Assembly approved a new bill that no longer requires MARTA to split the 1% Sales Tax. Due to low Sales Tax Revenue and no source of funding from the State of Georgia, MARTA was forced to eliminate 43 bus routes, eliminate shuttles, (Excluding the Six Flags Over Georgia and Braves Shuttle) and reduce Rail Service frequencies and hours. MARTA also closed the majority of its station restrooms. There are 13 station restrooms open to the public, most of which are located at the terminus of each line, and which include College Park, Arts Center, Peachtree Center, West End, Avondale, Kensington and Lindbergh Center. There are two Ridestores available, located at the Airport and Five Points Rail Stations. Despite the massive cuts, MARTA predicted the system would still come up 69.34 million dollars short for FY 2011, which was pulled from their Reserved Account. A $9 million addition was posted for 2013. This money was reinvested into the system by adding frequency to trains and bus routes.

The current 1% sales tax was set to be reduced to 0.5% in 2032. In early 2007 MARTA made a request to the City of Atlanta, DeKalb County, and Fulton County to seek a 15-year extension of the 1% sales tax from 2032 to 2047, with a 0.5% sales tax from 2047 to 2057. This is the fourth time in its history that MARTA sought the extension, the most recent in 1990. MARTA said the commitment to the tax is needed for the agency to secure long-term financing in the form of bonds to pay for any future expansions to the system. The resolution called for four new routes: bus rapid transit from H.E. Holmes station to Fulton Industrial Boulevard, bus rapid transit from Garnett station to Stonecrest Mall, transit for the BeltLine, and a direct transit link from Lindbergh Center to Emory University (formerly called the "C-Loop"). To approve the tax extension, two of the three government agencies needed to agree to the extension. In March 2007 the City of Atlanta voted 12–1 to approve the extension. In April 2007 the DeKalb County Commission also approved the sales tax extension. Some Fulton county officials opposed the sales tax extension on the basis that the proposed service expansions did not include previously proposed expansion of the North Rail line to Roswell and Alpharetta in North Fulton County.

State funding controversy

MARTA was formed through the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act of 1965, an act of the Georgia General Assembly. In addition to allowing the formation of the agency, and the collection of revenue from taxes, the legislation previously placed restrictions on how the agency managed its funds. In particular, the legislation established that any funds raised from the sale of bonds and capital goods would be spent on capital expenditures, and that any extra proceeds be put aside for paying off bond debt. While the enabling legislation put restrictions on how MARTA could manage its money, MARTA has never received any operational funding from the State of Georgia, making it the largest public transportation agency in the United States and the second-largest transit agency in Anglo-America (after the Toronto Transit Commission) not to receive state or provincial funding for operational expenses. The funding restrictions on MARTA were removed in 2015, with the passage of House Bill 213 by the General Assembly.

In early April 2009, MARTA experienced a budget crisis when the Georgia General Assembly failed to pass a bill that would allow MARTA to access its own capital reserve account, in order to compensate for a severe drop in sales-tax revenue during the late-2000s recession. MARTA stated that this could force the agency to discontinue operations one day out of the week, possibly a weekday. The agency's budget crisis forced MARTA to lay off 700 employees. Service cuts and other budget-stabilizing measures began in fiscal year 2011, with the first affected service mark-up in September 2010. Governor Sonny Perdue refused to call a special session as requested, and did not issue an executive order as he stated it would not be legal to do so.

Governance

MARTA is a joint powers authority that is governed by a board of directors, consisting of representatives appointed from the city of Atlanta (3 members), and the remainder of the counties of Fulton (3 members), Clayton (2 members) and DeKalb (4 members). Additionally, there is 1 representative from the Georgia Department of Transportation, and 1 representative from Georgia Regional Transportation Authority who also serve as non-voting members.

Positions on the MARTA board are directly appointed by the organizations they represent. Although the state of Georgia does not contribute to MARTA's operational funding, it still has voting members on the MARTA board. A similar situation existed for both Clayton and Gwinnett counties during most of MARTA's history; as a consequence of passing the authorization referendum but not the funding referendum. Gwinnett County have representation on the MARTA Board of Directors without paying into the system. This situation became controversial in 2004 when Gwinnett's representative Mychal Walker was found to have accepted US$20,000 from a lobbyist trying to secure a US$100 million contract with MARTA. Despite the controversy, as well as a MARTA board ruling that Walker violated the MARTA ethics policy, the Gwinnett County Commission initially failed to remove Mr. Walker from his position on the MARTA Board. Eventually, the state legislature was called upon to change the law governing MARTA's Board to allow for the removal of a member whose appointing county did not act on a request for removal. Before the new law could be used, Mr. Walker was arrested on an unrelated child support violation, which resulted in his firing by the Gwinnett County Commission.

The highest position at MARTA is the general manager and chief executive officer. Below is a list of people that have held the position:

• MARTA's General Manager was Richard McCrillis from 2006 to 2007. In October 2007, McCrillis retired after 22 years of service at MARTA.
• In October 2007, Dr. Beverly A. Scott was named the new general manager. Prior to joining MARTA, Dr. Scott served as GM/CEO of the Sacramento Regional Transit District. She has over 30 years of experience in the transportation industry. After 5 years at MARTA, she decided not to renew her contract with MARTA's board of directors. Scott's last day was December 9, 2012.
• Keith Parker was MARTA's General Manager/CEO from December 9, 2012 – October 11, 2017.
• Jeffrey A. Parker served as MARTA's General Manager/CEO position starting in 2017 until his death in 2022.
• Collie Greenwood assumed responsibilities as interim MARTA CEO on January 15, 2022. Prior to his role as interim CEO, Greenwood was MARTA's deputy general manager for operations.

The Georgia General Assembly has a standing committee that is charged with financial oversight of the agency. During the 2009 legislative session, Representative Jill Chambers, the MARTOC chairperson at the time, introduced a bill that would place MARTA under GRTA, and permanently remove the requirement that MARTA split its expenditures 50/50 between capital and operations. This would allow MARTA to avoid service cuts at times when sales tax revenue is low due to recession, without having to ask the state legislature for temporary exemptions (typically a 55/45 split) as it has received before. The bill was not passed, but the funding restrictions were removed in 2015.

Performance and safety

During the 2005 fiscal year, MARTA had a customer satisfaction rate of 79%. On-time performance for rail service was 91.64%. The mean distance between rail service interruptions was 9,493 miles (15,278 km) and the mean distance between bus failures was 3,301 miles (5,312 km).

April 2000 MARTA accident at Lenox station

MARTA has had two fatal accidents that resulted in a formal investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. On February 25, 2000, a train near Avondale station struck two automatic train control technicians who were inspecting a relay box; one was fatally injured and the other technician suffered serious injuries. The workers had failed to apply for a safe clearance restriction for the track work. In addition, the rail system center controller, who was aware of the workers, failed to notify train drivers of the technicians' presence. A second accident occurred on April 10, 2000, when a train struck a bucket lift containing two contract workers at Lenox station; the workers were fatally injured. Although the MARTA employee who was accompanying the workers notified the rail control center of the work over the track, the control center employee failed to block off the section of the track in the automated rail control system and also failed to notify the unscheduled southbound train of the workers' presence. In 2001 MARTA settled with the families of the two killed workers for US$10.5 million.

In addition to these accidents, MARTA trains have derailed five times in recent years. The most recent incident occurred in January 2019 when an out of service train derailed between Airport station and College Park station. The operator was not injured.[1][2] A previous derailment occurred on December 4, 2006 Medical Center station when a train carrying passengers was moved over a rail switch. No injuries were reported. In July 1996 during Atlanta's hosting of the Olympics, a paired car on a train that had developed mechanical problems was uncoupled from other cars at Indian Creek station (the last station on the east line). The train began rolling, crashing through the bumper at the end of the rail line and running off of the track. The train operator, the only person on board, received minor injuries. In June 1996 a minor derailment occurred at the junction between the North and Northeast lines; MARTA estimated 150 people were aboard. The derailment occurred when a rail supervisor told the train driver to reverse the train after realizing the train had gone the wrong way at a track split; a MARTA investigation of the incident showed the derailment caused $125,000 of damage to the train and track and caused injury to 16 passengers. And in August 1994 a minor derailment occurred at a switch between Candler Park and Inman Park. Approximately 20 passengers were on board and no one was injured.

On December 31, 2007, MARTA had three separate escalator accidents that injured at least 11 people. The incidents occurred as large crowds were going to the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Two escalators failed at Five Points station, and one escalator failed at Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center station. MARTA initially blamed the incidents on rowdy patrons jumping on the escalator. A subsequent formal investigation showed that the braking systems and a weak motor were to blame for the incidents.

In September 2008, a Fulton County jury awarded a woman $525,000 for injuries received in an accident at the Peachtree Center station. MARTA has been criticized for its escalator maintenance policies after recent injuries due to escalators overloading, but has discussed plans to improve its policies and regulate passenger loads with posted station agents.

Expansion plans

Previous expansion plans

MARTA was built with at least three stubs for rail lines that were never built. The Northwest Line towards Cobb County has a stub tunnel east of Atlantic Station, but that redevelopment has not been built with a MARTA station in mind, and Cobb County would instead most likely get a light rail or commuter rail system (neither of which have been studied) or a bus rapid transit service (see Northwest Corridor HOV/BRT). The Northwest line was reduced to two planned stations but was later dropped entirely.

The South Line's branch to Hapeville was considered for extension into Clayton County as far away as Forest Park, but this idea was also cut off when the voters of that county initially refused to approve tax funding for the line. Another idea for a rail spur line spur was for an above-ground line from near the International Airport for a spur line to the town of Hapeville, but no work has been initiated. The idea to revive expansion plans in the form of heavy rail and bus was approved to go once again before voters in November 2014 by the Clayton county commissioners in July 2014 with a 1% sales tax providing the funding for said expansion. This time, the referendum was approved and Clayton County voted to join MARTA, the system's first ever expansion outside of Fulton, Dekalb and the city of Atlanta.

Yet another proposed spur line would have branched off the Blue Line in DeKalb County, Called the Tucker-North Dekalb Line it would have run northeast to the area of North Druid Hills, Emory University, and the town of Tucker. Now under consideration is an idea for light rail line (rather than heavy rail) from Avondale Station to Lindbergh Center, via Emory/CDC.

The Northeast Line of the rail system, which has ended in Doraville for two decades, was considered for extension into Gwinnett County as far as northeast as Norcross, Georgia, but this idea was cut off when the voters of that county declined to approve sales-tax funding for it.

The Proctor Creek branch was also projected to go one more station northwestward to the West Highlands neighborhood, but no work has been done on that one either.

Expansion westward to Fulton Industrial Boulevard through the use of either heavy rail extension or bus rapid transit has been proposed as an extension of the West Line since the system was originally planned.

The final three MARTA rail stations to be built, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Springs - all north of the Interstate 285 Perimeter, were opened in 2000. The tracks to those stations were run on the surface of the median strip of Georgia 400, which was constructed just east of the Buckhead area as a tollway during the early 1990s. This is one of just two places at which the MARTA rail system extends outside of Interstate 285. The other is at the Indian Creek Station in eastern DeKalb County.

Since 2000, there have been no active railway expansion projects in the MARTA system due to lack of additional sales-tax funding, the need to spend its limited capital budget on refurbishing its older rolling stock, replacing the fare-collection system, repairing the tracks and their electrical systems, and other long-term maintenance, repair, and operations requirements.

Mall at Stonecrest Expansion

Eastward expansion focuses on bus rapid transit from downtown Atlanta along I-20 and extension of heavy rail transit from Indian Creek station, south along I-285 to I-20, then east along the I-20 corridor to the Mall at Stonecrest. The current Green Line would also be extended east from its current terminus at Edgewood/Candler Park station to Mall at Stonecrest. This proposed extension has not been studied further since 2018.

Memorial Drive BRT

Currently the only recent expansion in the entire MARTA system was the development of bus rapid transit along Memorial Drive from Kensington Station to the Goldsmith Road MARTA park and ride lot in Stone Mountain and Ponce De Leon Avenue. (Bus Service started operating on September 27, 2010). The bus had two routes: The Q Express runs between MARTA's Kensington Station and a free 150-car Park-and-Ride lot at Goldsmith Road & Memorial Drive; The Express only stops twice along the way at North Hairston Road and again at Georgia Perimeter College.

The Q Limited also ran north along Memorial Drive from Kensington Station but branched off at North Hairston Road on the way to East Ponce de Leon Avenue. The Q Limited had four stops along the way in addition the same stops for the Express The implementation of revenue-collecting service had initially been planned for early 2009.

Due to low ridership, BRT service was discontinued.

Atlanta BeltLine

Main article: Streetcars in Atlanta § BeltLine routes

Map showing BeltLine and connected neighborhoods; numbers represent discontinuities in current rights of way

Additionally, several traffic corridors are currently being studied by MARTA for possible system expansion. The BeltLine is a current proposal for the use of light rail and possibly bus or streetcar service on existing railroad rights-of-way around Atlanta's central business districts. The conversion of existing rail right-of-way to the proposed BeltLine also calls for the creation of three additional MARTA rapid transit stations where existing lines intersect the Belt Line at Simpson Road, Hulsey Yard, and Murphy Crossing.

Clifton Corridor

Main article: Clifton Corridor

Rapid transit alternatives are as of October 2011, under consideration for the Clifton Corridor, from Lindbergh Center, following the CSX rail corridor to Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control, with possible continuation along the northern edge of Decatur on to Avondale MARTA station. Bus, light rail and heavy rail rapid-transit options had been considered, with light rail being selected as the preferred option.

Connect 400

The Georgia 400 Transit Initiative (also known as "Connect 400") is a MARTA project to study options for expanding high-capacity transit along the Georgia State Route 400 corridor into the northern reaches of Fulton county. The initiative, kicked off in December 2011, envisages an 11.9-mile extension of rapid transit service, starting in the south at North Springs Transit Station, the current terminus of the existing MARTA Red Line. From there, such an extension would continue northward through the cities of Sandy Springs, Roswell, and Alpharetta, terminating in the vicinity of Windward Parkway.

As of the fifth public meeting on the subject on September 26, 2013, the study had narrowed the field of transit technology alternatives to three, all using existing right-of-way along SR 400: heavy-rail transit (HRT, extending the Red Line northward), light-rail transit (LRT), or bus rapid transit (BRT). Early designs for all three options include stations near Northridge Road, Holcomb Bridge Road, Mansell Road, North Point Mall, and Windward Parkway; initial sketches of the LRT and BRT options also include a station near Old Milton Parkway.

As of June 2015, the project is moving into the Environmental Impact study stage of the planning process. According to MARTA Representatives at the April 2015 meetings, the expansion could open in 2025 at the earliest assuming a best-case scenario. Federal funding is still not approved; the Environmental Impact study must be complete. By the April 2015 meeting, the LRT option has been discarded. The HRT option has been approved as the Locally Preferred Alternative, though two BRT options exist - one that would run in a dedicated bus guideway and the other to integrate with Georgia DOT's planned work for the corridor. The GDOT integrated option would include sharing normal traffic lanes at least in some parts of the route. The plans for stations at Mansell Rd. and Haynes Bridge Rd. have been merged into one station at North Point Mall.

As of June 2018, the project's adopted alternative is bus rapid transit (BRT) style bus service utilizing express lanes along new toll lanes. Heavy rail expansion will not be considered according to the signed House Bill (HB) 930.

Proposed new infill stations

Adding another station to the existing line near Armour Yard (MARTA's main railyard, opened 2005) has also been discussed, as the Red and Gold MARTA lines, the northeast BeltLine light rail, proposed commuter rail lines to points northeast such as Athens (the "Brain Train") and Gainesville, would all pass through Armour Yard. Other stations that have been proposed are; Mechanicsville, Boone, Murphy Crossing, and Krog.

The proposed Atlanta Multimodal Passenger Terminal (MMPT) would be built next to Five Points station, connecting MARTA to surface passenger rail, including commuter rail, future intercity rail, Amtrak, and possible high-speed rail in the Southeast Corridor.

Additional expansion plans for MARTA and other metro Atlanta transportation agencies are detailed in Mobility 2030 a timeline by the Atlanta Regional Commission for improving transit through the year 2030.

In March 2024, Mayor Andre Dickens announced that four new infill stations would be constructed across the network, including at Murphy Crossing – intersecting with the BeltLine – as well as at Krog Street, Joseph E. Boone, and Armour Yards.

Clayton County

Main article: Clayton County commuter rail

On July 5, 2014, the Clayton County Board of Commissioners, by a margin of 3-1 (Jeff Turner, Shana Rooks, and Sonna Gregory voting in favor,) approved a contract with MARTA to extend service to the county, financed by a 1 percent sales tax. Fulton and DeKalb county leaders approved the expansion. On November 4, 2014, Clayton County residents approved the 1% sales tax to join MARTA. Bus Service was implemented on March 21, 2015. The contract also includes provisions for future rail transit to the county by 2025.

One high-capacity/rail proposal calls for stations at Hapeville, Mountain View/ATL Hartsfield International Terminal, Forest Park, Fort Gillem, Clayton State/Morrow, Morrow/Southlake and Jonesboro by 2022. A station at Lovejoy is also proposed, which would open as a later phase. In 2018, commuter rail was selected as the locally preferred alternative of transit mode along the corridor.

As of 2021, this project is defunct and there are no plans to implement rail service in Clayton County. Additional bus service is proposed.

Gwinnett County

In September 2018, MARTA's board of directors and the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners gave conditional approval to an agreement that would see MARTA assume, and significantly expand, operations of Gwinnett's bus system (in operation since 2001) and clear the way for the long-sought-after extension of MARTA's rail system into the county from its current terminus at Doraville. The population of Gwinnett County has significantly increased, and become more racially and ethnically diverse, since 1990, the last time the county rejected joining MARTA. Whereas white business elites were the initial demographic to support the MARTA in 1965, most black voters had voted to fund transit. Large communities of rural white Georgians opposed MARTA.

The original plan in 2018 includes a detailed multi-year plan to expand heavy rail rapid transit in Gwinnett County. Some aspects of the Connect Gwinnett plan will include a train that runs every ten minutes, and also get more buses to take people to the MARTA station. This was possible because Georgia Legislature permitted counties to raise taxes to fund transit, which before was not allowed. The contract with MARTA would go into effect only if a public vote, that was scheduled for March 19, 2019, succeeded. The agreement called for a new one-cent sales tax that would be collected in Gwinnett County until 2057. On March 19, 2019, the third transit referendum failed, with 54.32% of the vote being "No" to expand. A fourth transit referendum was added to the ballot during the 2020 presidential election, which failed by a margin of slightly more than 1,000 voters as 50.13% of voters chose to vote against the referendum.

Criticism and concern

Criticism of MARTA has originated from many different groups. Opponents of MARTA are critical of MARTA's perceived inefficiency and alleged wasteful spending. Supporters of MARTA are critical of the almost complete lack of state and regional support of MARTA. In recent years, additional concerns have been raised regarding the reliability of service, as well as the governing structure of MARTA.

Lack of regional financial support

Since the formation of MARTA, the Georgia state government has never contributed to MARTA operational funding. Currently, MARTA is the largest mass transportation system in the United States not to receive state funding. Revenue from the Georgia motor fuel tax is currently restricted to roads and bridges and cannot be used for public transportation, further complicating potential sources of state funding for MARTA. In addition, the other largest two suburban counties (Gwinnett and Cobb counties) have refused to join or fund MARTA. Both Gwinnett and Clayton counties initially agreed to join MARTA but refused MARTA rail and bus service when voters in their respective counties voted against paying to help fund the system. Clayton County finally joined MARTA in November 2014. Gwinnett, along with Cobb County, created independent bus transit: Cobb Community Transit on July 10, 1989, Gwinnett County Transit on November 5, 2001. A separate regional bus transit service, Xpress, is operated by the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority in partnership with 11 metro Atlanta counties including Fulton and DeKalb, and began service on June 6, 2004.

The MARTA Board members are criticized for not being regular users of MARTA and thus are not actually aware of the concerns of MARTA commuters. Former CEO, Keith Parker, was known for commuting daily from Dunwoody to the headquarters using the Red Line.

Due to no funding from the state of Georgia and its limited funding from Fulton, Clayton and DeKalb counties, MARTA has struggled for many years to provide adequate service to the metropolitan area. As a result, MARTA has gained a notorious reputation throughout the metro Atlanta area for being ineffective and inconvenient. Many people who own cars avoid using the system altogether while residents in suburban areas usually drive their car to a MARTA rail station (instead of using bus service) if their job is near an adjacent one. MARTA's financial structure (being tied to a 1% sales tax) has forced the agency to cut services during times of economic depression, further resulting in complaints about the inconvenience and inadequacy of MARTA services.

Although surrounding counties do not pay for MARTA, many of their residents use MARTA by driving directly to a MARTA station or by using a county or regional bus system that connects to MARTA. A license plate study from 1988 to 1997 showed that 44% of the cars parked in MARTA park-and-ride lots were from outside of Fulton and DeKalb counties. Current fare reciprocity agreements also allow non-paying counties to provide bus service for their residents that provide free connections to MARTA (see Fare reciprocity). According to a 2000 MARTA ridership study, 12% of MARTA riders live outside of MARTA's service area.

Effects of race on expansion and funding

It is often argued that racial politics also play a role in the operation and future service planning for MARTA. Opponents of Georgia's transportation policies have alleged a race-based two-tiered system, where billions are spent by the state on highway expansion to aid the automobile commutes of mostly White residents of the suburbs and rural areas (like GRIP), while service cuts at MARTA have hurt mostly African Americans in low-income areas where residents cannot afford automobile ownership. Proponents contest that a portion of state funding for highways comes from the gasoline tax, a user fee analogous to the fare MARTA riders pay. Supporters of MARTA have alleged that the lack of participation by other metro Atlanta counties is rooted in racism and classism. In 1987, David Chesnut, then chairman of MARTA, stated, "The development of a regional transit system in the Atlanta area is being held hostage to race, and I think it's high time we admitted it and talked about it." As part of its Title VI plan, MARTA data revealed that 75 percent of MARTA riders were Black in 2015. MARTA is sometimes sarcastically said to stand for "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta", a replacement backronym, due to the relatively low number of white riders, particularly outside of rush hours.

Criminal activity

Despite a strong safety record, throughout MARTA's history there have been continued concerns regarding criminal activity on MARTA trains and in and around MARTA train stations. In the aftermath of a 1985 aggravated assault against the daughter of a Georgia State University professor, complaints were made that MARTA was underreporting its annual crime statistics. A 1986 review of the previous year's records by MARTA's audit office and the state legislature's MARTA Oversight Committee (MARTOC) showed no deliberate underreporting of crime, but rather over-reporting of crime because MARTA included crimes not related to the rail line and did not adhere to the Uniform Crime Reporting system (reporting multiple crimes by the same person instead of only the most serious crime).

According to Federal Transit Administration records, MARTA's crime statistics are in line with those of similar-sized systems, such as Bay Area Rapid Transit in the San Francisco Bay area. Nonetheless, high-profile crimes on or near MARTA have created the impression with some that MARTA is unsafe and lacks a strong police presence, even though it has its own police department. From 2005 to 2009, two homicides and one rape were reported on MARTA property. The most common crime reported was larceny. The most common area for crime was MARTA's rail service, followed by MARTA's parking lots. For fiscal year 2009, MARTA had a crime rate of 3.09 per 1 million riders, with 483 crimes reported during the entire year.

Suburban counties have opposed expanding MARTA on the basis that it would lead to increased crime, as well as the cost of expansion and the lack of perceived necessity to areas currently outside MARTA transit. It is alleged that because MARTA's service area includes some of Atlanta's most economically depressed and high-crime neighborhoods, expansion of MARTA would supposedly allow crime to spread to suburban areas. Then-MARTA-CEO, Dr. Scott, acknowledged that assumption and cites a study that did not find transit systems to nucleate crime. Other counterarguments often cite the case of the Washington Metro, which provides services in economically depressed areas with limited problems in suburban Washington D.C. stops.

Reliability of service

MARTA construction at Peachtree Center

As is typical of rail transit in the United States, MARTA's rail lines have two parallel tracks. Any train failure or track work results in shared use of the other track by trains going opposite directions, a situation known as single-tracking. There are no plans at this time to expand the number of tracks. MARTA is currently nearing the end of a complete replacement of tracks on all rail lines. Over the past few years, this replacement work has caused the agency to implement single-tracking on the weekends, which in turn has caused weekend patrons to experience less-frequent service.

In the summer of 2006, as a result of unusually high summertime temperatures, many MARTA rail cars became overheated, damaging on-board propulsion equipment. As a result, many trains broke down and had to be taken out of service for repair. This was further compounded by the fact that at any given time up to 50 older rail cars were out of service as part of MARTA's rail car rehabilitation project. To compensate for the reduced number of operating rail cars, MARTA shortened trains from six to four cars in length. This sometimes resulted in almost half of the trains being shortened, creating crowded conditions for passengers.

Misuse of funds by employees for personal expenses

In 2006 internal and external audits of MARTA corporate spending revealed personal charges on a pair of MARTA credit cards used by former General Manager and CEO Nathaniel Ford and two of his secretaries. Ford's charges included $454 at a golf pro shop, $335 in clothing from Men's Wearhouse and a $58 visit to the dentist. In response to the 2006 audit, Ford sent MARTA a check for $1,000 as reimbursement for the charges. An additional credit card with charges involving two of his secretaries, Iris Anthony and Stephannie Smart, was also uncovered. Smart used the cards to pay approximately $6,000 in private expenses, and subsequently agreed to repay this amount to MARTA.

Incidents

On April 10, 2000, two MARTA contract workers repairing the ceiling of MARTA's Lenox Station were killed when an unscheduled MARTA train struck the bucket of the self-propelled lift they were in. As a result, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) audited MARTA operations and enforced changes to rule compliance by MARTA employees.

On October 15, 2011, 19-year-old Joetavius Stafford was killed by a MARTA police officer at the Vine City rail station. MARTA claims that Stafford was armed while his brother said he was unarmed. After a full investigation, there was evidence that Stafford was armed and the MPO was cleared.

In June 2018, a MARTA contractor died after being struck by a train while working on the tracks between Buckhead and North Springs stations.

On January 14, 2022, MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker committed suicide by stepping in front of a moving train at the East Lake station.

See also

• List of MARTA rail stations
• List of United States rapid transit systems by ridership

External links

• MARTA website
• MARTA Breeze website
• New Georgia Encyclopedia article
• nycsubway.org Atlanta page
• Martin Stupich Photographs, 1977-1978 of the development of MARTA from the Atlanta History Center
• Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Collection from Georgia State University