5 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

Metropolitan Atlanta Regional Transit Authority website:

Inclement Weather - Rider Alert

At this time we anticipate that we will suspend service until 8am on Wednesday. After that time we will operate both the Rail and Bus service on a Sunday schedule. There will be a limited number of buses in service on some lifeline routes. The specific bus routes are currently being determined based upon weather and road conditions.

[KevinKorell]

First, just as people need it the most, as of this moment MARTA's website is down. I guess they are trying to do their best NJ TRANSIT impression.

From the Atlanta, GA Journal-Constitution, 1/29/14:

MARTA suspends bus service, warns of delays on rail

If you need to get somewhere Wednesday, MARTA may be the best ride in town.

While the transit authority has suspended bus service until further notice, the rail service has been running since about 5:30 a.m., spokesman Lyle Harris told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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If you haven't heard, Atlanta was caught off guard and the ice and 2 inches of snow resulted in huge traffic jams with some people abandoning their cars or sleeping in them overnight. This offers the MARTA rail system a chance to shine in the shadow of this disaster. .... that is, if people can get to it.

[KevinKorell]

Building upon what I ended the above post with, Atlanta's Mayor Reed and Georgia's Governor Deal are going to take political fallout from this event. But they, as well as several of both their predecessors in the respective offices, need to take responsibility too. Atlanta has a great rapid transit system, except that it does not go too far out into the suburbs where people need to travel. Plans to extend it in all directions should have been in place years ago. And we have followed the saga here about the lack of any commuter rail in the Atlanta area. Think how many fewer cars may have been stuck out there on the freeways if commuter rail and more rapid transit were available to the population. That in itself should be a rallying cry if and when these people get to confront their politicians.

[KevinKorell]

1/30/14 update, for service on 1/31/14:

Winter Weather Update:

Inclement Weather Bus and Rail Schedules for January 31st

FRIDAY, JAN. 31 RAIL SERVICE

Based upon the weather forecast and available manpower, MARTA will begin rail service on all rail lines at 5:00 a.m. Friday morning. Please allow extra time for travel and anticipate possible delays. Gold Line: Doraville to Airport trains. 20-30 minute frequencies depending upon time of day. Red Line: North Springs to Lindbergh Center trains (Red Line passengers who need to continue farther south may transfer to the next southbound Gold Line at Lindbergh). 20-30 minute frequencies depending upon time of day. Blue Line: Indian Creek to H.E. Holmes trains. 20 minute frequencies. Green Line: Bankhead trains. 20 minute frequencies.

[KevinKorell]

Atlanta, GA Journal-Constitution, 1/31/14:

MARTA restoring most bus, train service

Metro Atlanta's rapid transit system is operating most bus and train service on Friday after it was limited due to this week's ice and snow storm.

Here is the story.

[KevinKorell]

My little rant about Atlanta and Georgia in post #3 above is echoed by others, in a series of opinions published in the Atlanta Journal-Contitution of 1/30/14:

Real regional transit would have helped

As indispensable as MARTA was this week — and is every day to those of us who rely on it — the sad reality is that mass transit in its current state simply isn’t a realistic option for many area residents.

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