Gwinnett County has the opportunity to join MARTA with the promise that the majority of tax dollars will be spent in Gwinnett. But is it too late to save MARTA?
MARTA ridership was below forecast for all of 2018 for buses and rail passengers. Will forecasting be any better with the addition of Gwinnett County?
The 3% Solution
So far MARTA is a 3% solution to the Metro Atlanta Urban population. If you assume that each MARTA patron takes a trip to and from their destinations, only 3% of the population uses MARTA on a daily basis.
That begs the question: How much more shall the 97% continue to vote and support the 3% solution?
MARTA has evolved into a two purpose system. The first is to get lower cost workers to employment areas.
The second is to transport those with private vehicles to both sporting events and the airport, where the hassles of drive times and parking fees can be avoided.
Will Gwinnett County voters be willing to commit large sums of money going forward forever for these purposes?
Or will they be wise enough to realize that MARTA just isn’t SMARTA?
For those that are supporting this push for MARTA, I have just one question:
Outside of the airport and sporting events, will you be using MARTA for your daily trips around your town, or are you hoping that your neighbor will be doing so?
That’s what I thought.