12/8/2023 0 Comments Atlanta marta reddit![]() ![]() But the ridership demographics, their daily needs, and the economics of expanding mean that it doesn't make financial sense for MARTA to expand to provide all these things. People would love trains going in 20 different directions, running 24/7, every 3 minutes. ![]() Put all that together and you get the average Atlantan's complaint about MARTA: not safe, not clean, never there when and where you need it.Ĭan most people's opinion about MARTA change for the better over time? That's a chicken and egg problem. In the absence of great performance in any of the other areas, people have a natural tendency to start nit picking at other aspects which are problems in all metropolitan areas: cleanliness and safety. Now, let's bring the other variable we threw out earlier, safety. The fact that the network is limited, the fact that you can't take it home from a bar at 230am (the train atleast), all don't necessarily help. Sure, by your experience MARTA might be punctual, but if a commuter/occasional traveler misses a train (whether it's their fault or not), they'll overlook the punctuality and quip about why there isn't a train every 3 minutes. I think that the reason people (and I do this as well, I admit) hate on MARTA is that because of numerous factors (demand, budget constraints, planning etc), it doesn't necessarily stand out in areas which people value the most. In NYC, for example, the fact that the frequency of trains is extremely high and the network is massive makes me overlook the fact that the subway is disgusting and not very punctual. In all of the above cities, you typically have one or two extremely positive factors that the majority of people value which makes you overlook the other inconveniences. Typically with systems in major cities like New York, Boston, DC, San Francisco, Chicago, you tend to have issues with safety somewhere in the system, so let's throw that one out for now. So here's how I see it: there are five main things about Mass transit that one can compare: Operating hours, Frequency, Network, Punctuality, Cleanliness and Safety. If you think that it's an unusually bad and inefficient transit system, then I really disagree. If you would like MARTA to be faster and take you to more places, well great because me too. MARTA's current rail wait times of 10 minutes at rush hour and 12 minutes for off peak don't seem that far off from BART and the Metro. Serious delays are common enough on MTA that they have an automated "doctor's note" generator. Personal experience and looking at other cities' subs makes me think that MARTA offers a pretty typical riding experience for US public transportation. There are pan-handlers and homeless people, but it really isn't that a big a deal for me to just ignore someone asking me for 50 cents. Minor delays occur a few times a month, and major ones a few times a year. I would describe driving in Atlanta traffic as incredibly stressful, so I really appreciate being able to spend my time on MARTA reading or listening to podcasts. It is much cheaper and slightly faster than driving. I've been taking MARTA buses and trains to get to work 5 days a week since 2009 and the experience has been overwhelmingly positive. A lot of times people point to transit systems in other cities and say, "These are much better!" I'm not going to hesitate to say that the Metro and MTA have far better coverage than MARTA, but I think a lot of complainers have unrealistic expectations for what a public transportation experience should be like. MARTA is frequently described as dirty, slow, dangerous, expensive, etc. ![]()
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