MARTA's NextGen Bus Network draft aims for frequency, but might leave some stranded
Has MARTA studied the accessibility and safety of roads and sidewalks around their proposed route changes?
Often when I’m talking to someone about taking MARTA, I’ll mention something about the bus lines, and they’ll respond with something like “Oh, you take the bus?”
Yes, bitch, I ride the MARTA bus, and while I am probably way too tolerant of the frequent delays, breakdowns, cancellations, and missed connections, I make it work most – some? – of the time.
A recent promotional video from MARTA for the upcoming NextGen Bus Network states some of the update's notable features, including:
- More frequent service, with buses arriving every 15 minutes or better in 18 corridors
- Routes will be simpler, reducing the need for transfers
- Access to more places in less time with timed transfer locations
- New on-demand services expand access, connecting routes and transfer points
Some of these points seem more vague than others, so let’s take a look.
To help us learn more about the proposed changes, MARTA also released a few interesting tools you can play around with: the Route Finder and a Comparative Map that shows supposed changes in access to available jobs within a transit route.
For a personal example, I take the 6 bus, a bus line that frequently lacks on-time or present drivers and is so unreliable that someone once Sharpied “Don’t rely on the 6” on a bus shelter wall. It currently comes every 45 minutes on midday weekdays and every 20 minutes during rush times on weekdays. In the NextGen Bus Stop concept, the 6 has been changed to the 15 and would supposedly come every 15 minutes. Is that actually realistic? Also, the proposed 15 line doesn’t go to Inman Park Station, as the 6 currently does – the concept has it going to Decatur. To go to East Atlanta, I’d have to make a transfer.
I still don't really know what MARTA meant by "Routes will be simpler, reducing the need for transfers."
Samanthalenore on Bluesky points out that adding transfers in a city where many areas of bus service are unsafe or inaccessible for pedestrians is concerning, and she’s right.
Another interesting addition of the NextGen Bus Network is “on-demand zones,” which seem similar to the MARTA Reach program that was trialed in 2022. How “on-demand” and reliable would this system really be, and would it eventually just contract out to other companies and discourage those folks from using public transit altogether?
Has MARTA studied the accessibility and safety of roads and sidewalks around their proposed route changes? We know that folks on the MARTA Board generally don’t use the bus system, so they don’t have the kind of daily experiences that we as riders do.
On the bright side, increasing the frequency of buses would maybe cut down on the totally demoralizing feeling of missing the train due to the bus pulling up to the station late.
Currently, we’re in the “draft plan engagement” stage of the project, which means MARTA wants to hear your thoughts now before presenting the final draft of the project. You can sign up for email alerts about the project and leave a question or comment. The public meetings held on Dec. 12 and 17 have passed, and they haven’t announced any more yet.
How do you feel about the new project? Let MARTA know, and then let me know by replying here or on Bluesky.
