Tag: Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority

MARTA Opens Updated Airport Station, Advances $1 Billion Rehabilitation Initiative

The Center Square
Metro Atlanta Regional Transport

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority re-opened its Airport Station on Monday following a six-week closure as part of a multi-million-dollar station update.

The $55 million upgrade to the station connected to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is part of a systemwide, roughly $1 billion multi-year Station Rehabilitation Program initiative to overhaul all 38 stations. The transit agency is paying for the upgrades using State of Good Repair Funds from its capital budget.

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MARTA Considering $654.5 Million Operating Budget for Fiscal 2025

The Center Square
MARTA

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority officials are weighing a proposed $654.5 million operating budget for fiscal 2025.

The budget anticipates roughly $386.5 million in sales tax revenue, nearly $82 million in passenger revenue and $80 million in federal operating assistance. The $654.5 million operating expenses are roughly $23 million more than the agency’s fiscal 2024 budget.

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MARTA Advances Capital Program with ‘Unprecedented’ State Funding

The Center Square

As the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority advances its More MARTA Atlanta Program, the agency’s position is bolstered by what an executive called “unprecedented” state funding.

MARTA officials said the agency is advancing a program estimated to cost $2.7 billion over 40 years. It is partially funded by a half-penny sales tax Atlanta voters passed in 2016.

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Metro Atlanta Focused on Bus Rapid Transit Rather than More Costly Light Rail

The Center Square

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is advancing bus rapid transit for the Clifton Corridor Transit Initiative Project.

“Atlanta is not known for its mass transit system,” Wes Guckert, president & CEO of The Traffic Group, a traffic engineering firm, told The Center Square via email. “With more than 75% of the city’s six million residents driving to and from work, it should come as no surprise that Atlanta is tied for second worst place in the nation when it comes to using public transit to get to and from work.

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Mass Transit Could Be Expanding in Georgia, but Critics Say Costs Aren’t Justified

The Center Square

Atlanta once had a robust transportation network, with streetcars rumbling along the city’s streets and interurban lines connecting suburbs like Marietta and Stone Mountain.

But 75 years ago, the lines shuttered, replaced by new forms of transportation: Automobiles.

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Georgia’s Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Boss Wants to Expand Service in Atlanta Metro Area

The Center Square

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority recently unveiled the first of its new railcars for its network. The $646 million cars are expected to start service in 2025.

MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood spoke with The Center Square during the event about what’s next for the transit agency, funding and possible expansion to new areas.

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Georgia’s Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Spending $646 Million to Replace Its Entire Railcar Fleet

The Center Square

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to replace its rail fleet, which officials say will eliminate many delays customers see.

MARTA’s board of directors signed off on the $646 million deal with Swiss-based Stadler Rail in November 2019. The deal for 56 four-car train sets — 224 total railcars — marked the largest procurement for either organization.

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Georgia’s MARTA Plans to Extend Atlanta Streetcar Line Eastward

The Center Square

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority plans to spend $176 to 215 million to extend Atlanta’s streetcar line eastward.

The agency plans to use money from the More MARTA Atlanta half-penny sales tax voters in Atlanta approved in November 2016 to fund the two-mile extension, which won’t open until 2027. The agency expects to start construction in 2024.

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Federal Infrastructure Bill Could Bring Major Projects, Higher Taxes to Georgia

The Center Square

With U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visiting Georgia on Friday to promote a federal infrastructure bill, construction workers and transit officials say it could mean major developments for the state.

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) officials said the $1.2 trillion U.S. Senate proposal could increase Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding for it and other transit agencies by 65% over previous levels. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) said it could help restore billions of dollars in the economic costs and millions of hours of lost time caused by the state’s structurally deficient bridges.

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