MARTA to face drastic cuts after bill stalls

[gttx]

Time to be furious with your legislature:

MARTA to face drastic cuts after bill stalls

By ARIEL HART

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Saturday, April 04, 2009

MARTA officials are bracing for drastic service cuts, after the General Assembly failed to pass legislation that would free up the agency’s access to its own money.

Shortly after the Legislative session ended at midnight Friday, MARTA General Manager Beverly Scott sat, exhausted and dejected, with her team of lobbyists.

“It’s Armageddon,” Scott said. “That’s what it is. My board’s going to have some very difficult decisions in front of them.”

Scott said that in order to fill an immediate gap of more than $20 million, her board would have to decide among severe options. One is stopping all MARTA service one day a week, probably Fridays.

A majority of MARTA’s funding comes from a sales tax levied in Fulton and DeKalb counties. With the faltering economy those revenues have tanked.

In Senate Bill 120 MARTA wasn’t asking for new money from the state, though advocates say it will need it.

Instead, the bill would have lifted a state restriction on how MARTA can use money it already gets. MARTA must spend half its revenues on capital expenses, as opposed to operating the system. That means it can’t touch $65 million it has sitting in capital reserves.

The measure passed the Senate, then surfaced in different bills as it got caught up in political wrangling over other transportation funding proposals. The House passed a bill that would have eased the restriction to 40 percent, but to do that House members stripped out a bill that the Senate wanted.

Scott put the failure down to “high politics,” not policy opposition. “It wasn’t about MARTA,” she said.

Transit riders are the ones who will pay first, and then the businesses where they work and shop, she said.

“It’s especially astounding in these economic circumstances,” said Lee Biola, president of Citizens for Progressive Transit. “It will have real personal consequences for people who ride MARTA.”

Scott said the MARTA board would make a final decision in June, and the cuts should be in place by September.

[joecool]

....

[sevensixtwo]

Wow! Drama. How can they be considering cutting out a weekday? Seems like the weekend would be the obvious choice.

[plorenc]

I almost want them to cut on a weekday. It will show our backwards Georgia legislature that MARTA needs some kind of solution, that they cannot keep ignoring the ills of Atlanta.

I'm sick and tired of the apathy in Georgia. It's almost as if the Southern tradition of the "slow, easy life" has been corrupted into a "do-nothing at all life." The only solutions to any problems are action, Georgia, not inaction.

We desperately need some kind of leadership in this state. Right now we have a bunch of silly clowns.

Either that, or Atlanta needs to seriously consider seceding.

[jeffschade3]

Even though cutting service would be disastrous, I think it may send a good message to lawmakers that they can't keep ignoring the problems with MARTA. I'm hoping that the MARTA Board makes some spiteful cuts to send a message to the legislature.

[gttx]

Originally Posted by jeffschade3

Even though cutting service would be disastrous, I think it may send a good message to lawmakers that they can't keep ignoring the problems with MARTA. I'm hoping that the MARTA Board makes some spiteful cuts to send a message to the legislature.

Problem is, the lawmakers don't care. 90% of them serve counties that have never ever seen a MARTA train.

[skapunkskatedude]

Originally Posted by plorenc

I almost want them to cut on a weekday.

i don't... i use MARTA at least twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon mon-fri. I use it at least twice every weekend. This cannot happen, for my sake!!!

Does anybody know anything about that old building on the corner of Ivan Allen and Peachtree? I drove past today, and it had been demolished. I'm just wondering if something is slated to go up there, or if it was taken down for safety concerns or something

[briantech]

That marta thing is insane. I have a monthly pass -- are they going to reduce the cost of a monthly pass by 1/7th if they stop running one day a week? Absurd!

[jeffschade3]

Originally Posted by gttx

Problem is, the lawmakers don't care. 90% of them serve counties that have never ever seen a MARTA train.

True but the public outcry could convince something to change.

Thing was, MARTA had a huge chance to really shape up last summer when gas prices were so high that their ridership soared. If they had started making capital improvements and really looked at extending services at that time...

Then again that still wouldn't close the $20 million gap they have right now.

[bucky86]

I just don't get it. Is MARTA suggesting that by shutting down the system on a busy weekday that they will actually SAVE money? How will doing so lessen their shortfall?

I take the train to/from work each day. If service is stopped one weekday I'll have no other option than to pay for a parking spot in Buckhead and stop riding MARTA altogether.

[cybele]

Does this mean we won't have to work on Fridays?

[SAV]

Originally Posted by cybele

Does this mean we won't have to work on Fridays?

LOL!! I know, right.

[SAV]

I never understood how the legislature could make it out of there session without at least making the important decisions.



MARTA begs state leaders to avert ‘calamity’

Legislature fails to pass measure allowing agency to access more of its own money
By ARIEL HART

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Monday, April 06, 2009

MARTA board members on Monday called for a special legislative session to avert what they called the economic calamity of shutting down service at least one day a week.

“If something is not done about these issues that were neglected this session, at some point it’s going to be too late,” MARTA board Chairman Michael Walls said, imploring state leaders to act.

Walls said he hoped a special session would solve two issues that the Legislature left hanging when it adjourned Friday: MARTA’s crisis and state transportation funding.

MARTA’s immediate problem is that it needs money for daily operations and can’t spend $65 million it already has. State law says MARTA has to use half its income for capital expenses. The $65 million is in a capital reserve account and thus off limits to prop up operations. A bill that passed the Senate but stalled in the House would have lifted that restriction. A House bill that would have eased the restrictions did not pass.

“There is no reason for this train wreck to have to happen,” said MARTA General Manager Beverly Scott. “There are dollars that are there in an account that has been put there by folks in Fulton and DeKalb County … there is no need to wind up having the economic devastation and the personal hardship that is going to wind up happening to thousands of people.”

A special session could be called either by the governor or through votes by both chambers of the General Assembly, said Bert Brantley, a spokesman for Gov. Sonny Perdue. He said that MARTA staff had only asked recently to speak with the governor’s office about the matter. He said the governor hadn’t made a decision.

MARTA depends partly on a sales tax levied in Fulton and DeKalb counties, and those revenues have shrunk along with the economy. Scott said MARTA has already made the easy cuts. The board now must decide by June among draconian measures to close a budget gap of $24 million in the next fiscal year and $40 million the following year. That could mean laying off 350 to 400 people in MARTA’s staff of about 5,000. And, she said, it could mean shutting down service completely on a weekday, or on most of a weekend.

“That would mess me up completely,” said Candice Fletcher, 27, as she headed to a job interview from MARTA’s Lindbergh station. She said MARTA is her only means of transportation to work as a patient assistant at Grady Memorial Hospital and, she hopes, to a second job.

But really, she said, she doesn’t believe the state will let the closures happen, because it would be too destructive to too many people. “It’s wrong,” she said.

[MichaelM.]

Are any of the people that are supporting MARTA on here native Atlantans?

I am a native and have lived here since my birth in 1982.

My parents have told me what happened to Lenox Mall when MARTA was brought through in 1984 - crime spiked and the mall became a haven for thugs and teenagers from the south side that would ride up to the mall to hang out and not buy anything. The mall almost went under - thank god a new mangement company stepped in to increase security and keep things under control. But there was no doubt - a criminal element moved in the same time as MARTA.

I remember what happened to Perimeter in 1996 when the Dunwoody Marta Station opened - the same exact thing. Spikes in petty crimes, hoodlums of teens running around (I was a teen then so I especially noticed), thuggish behavior. Perimeter was changed forever - for the worse - because of Marta. I was in Dunwoody at the Best Buy at 9:30 at night a couple of weeks ago when a panhandler asked me for money as he waited outside the Best Buy... in Dunwoody... across the street from MARTA - now how the heck you think he got there?

Why do you think a cop has to sit outside of the Perimeter Point Movie theater? Easy - the Sandy Springs Marta Station.

A friend of mine used to live in Alpharetta off Kimball bridge within walking distance of the Mansell Bus station - she noticed after it was built a signifigant increase in crime in her neighborhood.

Of course, there are success stories, like Lindbergh Center, but mostly these exmaples explain why many native Atlantans are so opposed to MARTA - because they saw the criminal element it brings and how it drastically altered Perimeter, Lenox, and to a lesser extent Alpharetta, right before thier eyes.

How could this be solved? Removal of mass transit - which I do not support. Atlanta needs MARTA.

What I support is a zone fare system for MARTA. That way if you want to ride from Collie Park to Dunwoody to chill at the mall, break into some cars, or beg for some money - your going to have to pay for it - making it less likely to happen.

No other system besides NYC operates like Marta with a single fare. Washington, D.C. uses a zone fare system, and there are few comlpaints from the wealthy suburb Alexandria, VA about criminal elements becuase the zone fare system prevents them from moving in.

Of course people argued that MARTA is safe and showed stats to prove it was in line with other systems in terms of safety, but refused to acknoledge a huge factor - all those systems use zone fare.

But why does Dr. Scott, CEO, refuse this option? Im not sure, but I have an idea - she has racist intentions. She knows most people who ride MARTA are black and she does not want them to be denied the right to ride wherever they want all over the city for one price. Justified? You decide - but all I know is that she refuses to discuss an option that would save MARTA.

[sevensixtwo]

Wow, what a segue into racism! Crime is the price of living in a city. Who cares if some MARTA riding thugs make Buckhead Betty scared to shop. Little spikes in crime are incomparable to the benefits of transit.

[Atlwest281]

Lenox mall changing is because it graduated from just a nice mall to a destination mall. It has stores that you cant find in any other mall in the city and in some other regional cities. It is an Aspirational mall. The same as 5th ave, it is a destination so of course ALL kinds of people will come. Marta slightly aides in that , but the Collipark teens do have cars and do drive to lenox so don't blame the entire problem on Marta. Atlanta is a major city, the 8th largest metro in the country unfortunately with that heavy crown comes problems. I can assure most of the supposed thuggy teens are just hanging with friends and could careless about stealing or causing trouble except the occasional sophomoric behavior. Its not always the most obvious who are up to no good.

[gttx]

Originally Posted by MichaelM.

Are any of the people that are supporting MARTA on here native Atlantans?

I am a native and have lived here since my birth in 1982.

My parents have told me what happened to Lenox Mall when MARTA was brought through in 1984 - crime spiked and the mall became a haven for thugs and teenagers from the south side that would ride up to the mall to hang out and not buy anything. The mall almost went under - thank god a new mangement company stepped in to increase security and keep things under control. But there was no doubt - a criminal element moved in the same time as MARTA.

I remember what happened to Perimeter in 1996 when the Dunwoody Marta Station opened - the same exact thing. Spikes in petty crimes, hoodlums of teens running around (I was a teen then so I especially noticed), thuggish behavior. Perimeter was changed forever - for the worse - because of Marta. I was in Dunwoody at the Best Buy at 9:30 at night a couple of weeks ago when a panhandler asked me for money as he waited outside the Best Buy... in Dunwoody... across the street from MARTA - now how the heck you think he got there?

Why do you think a cop has to sit outside of the Perimeter Point Movie theater? Easy - the Sandy Springs Marta Station.

A friend of mine used to live in Alpharetta off Kimball bridge within walking distance of the Mansell Bus station - she noticed after it was built a signifigant increase in crime in her neighborhood.

Of course, there are success stories, like Lindbergh Center, but mostly these exmaples explain why many native Atlantans are so opposed to MARTA - because they saw the criminal element it brings and how it drastically altered Perimeter, Lenox, and to a lesser extent Alpharetta, right before thier eyes.

How could this be solved? Removal of mass transit - which I do not support. Atlanta needs MARTA.

I don't even know where to start with an answer to this tirade - other than to say that you should back up your "personal experiences" of crime with real data. It's that one little thing that always nags at transit opposition, mostly because data generally supports the idea that property values around transit nodes go up, not down as you seem to suggest.

What I support is a zone fare system for MARTA. That way if you want to ride from Collie Park to Dunwoody to chill at the mall, break into some cars, or beg for some money - your going to have to pay for it - making it less likely to happen.

No other system besides NYC operates like Marta with a single fare. Washington, D.C. uses a zone fare system, and there are few comlpaints from the wealthy suburb Alexandria, VA about criminal elements becuase the zone fare system prevents them from moving in.

Of course people argued that MARTA is safe and showed stats to prove it was in line with other systems in terms of safety, but refused to acknoledge a huge factor - all those systems use zone fare.

But why does Dr. Scott, CEO, refuse this option? Im not sure, but I have an idea - she has racist intentions. She knows most people who ride MARTA are black and she does not want them to be denied the right to ride wherever they want all over the city for one price. Justified? You decide - but all I know is that she refuses to discuss an option that would save MARTA.

First of all, hundreds of systems other than New York and Atlanta use non-zone fare systems. Ever heard of Philadelphia or Chicago? What about Paris or Singapore? The merits of such a system notwithstanding, it is certainly not as prevalent as you make it seem. The technology costs money to implement, and is very politically unpopular in places like Atlanta. Is it because of racism? Probably not. But it is certainly a legitimate concern that low-income residents would be negatively impacted. That's not a black or white issue - it's an issue of fairness. You cannot simply raise the cost of transit to prevent "criminal elements" in wealthy suburbs. And seriously, you saw a panhandler in Dunwoody? The horror! Pretty soon that MARTA riff-raff will be breaking into houses and raping women.

Plenty of people here are (like myself) native Atlantans. Perhaps a trip out of the northern suburbs might change your perspective a little bit.

[BlueSangha]

Originally Posted by MichaelM.

Are any of the people that are supporting MARTA on here native Atlantans?

I am a native and have lived here since my birth in 1982.

My parents have told me what happened to Lenox Mall when MARTA was brought through in 1984 - crime spiked and the mall became a haven for thugs and teenagers from the south side that would ride up to the mall to hang out and not buy anything. The mall almost went under - thank god a new mangement company stepped in to increase security and keep things under control. But there was no doubt - a criminal element moved in the same time as MARTA.

I remember what happened to Perimeter in 1996 when the Dunwoody Marta Station opened - the same exact thing. Spikes in petty crimes, hoodlums of teens running around (I was a teen then so I especially noticed), thuggish behavior. Perimeter was changed forever - for the worse - because of Marta. I was in Dunwoody at the Best Buy at 9:30 at night a couple of weeks ago when a panhandler asked me for money as he waited outside the Best Buy... in Dunwoody... across the street from MARTA - now how the heck you think he got there?

Why do you think a cop has to sit outside of the Perimeter Point Movie theater? Easy - the Sandy Springs Marta Station.

A friend of mine used to live in Alpharetta off Kimball bridge within walking distance of the Mansell Bus station - she noticed after it was built a signifigant increase in crime in her neighborhood.

Of course, there are success stories, like Lindbergh Center, but mostly these exmaples explain why many native Atlantans are so opposed to MARTA - because they saw the criminal element it brings and how it drastically altered Perimeter, Lenox, and to a lesser extent Alpharetta, right before thier eyes.

How could this be solved? Removal of mass transit - which I do not support. Atlanta needs MARTA.

What I support is a zone fare system for MARTA. That way if you want to ride from Collie Park to Dunwoody to chill at the mall, break into some cars, or beg for some money - your going to have to pay for it - making it less likely to happen.

No other system besides NYC operates like Marta with a single fare. Washington, D.C. uses a zone fare system, and there are few comlpaints from the wealthy suburb Alexandria, VA about criminal elements becuase the zone fare system prevents them from moving in.

Of course people argued that MARTA is safe and showed stats to prove it was in line with other systems in terms of safety, but refused to acknoledge a huge factor - all those systems use zone fare.

But why does Dr. Scott, CEO, refuse this option? Im not sure, but I have an idea - she has racist intentions. She knows most people who ride MARTA are black and she does not want them to be denied the right to ride wherever they want all over the city for one price. Justified? You decide - but all I know is that she refuses to discuss an option that would save MARTA.

Are you serious!? A fair structure is going to save marta and solve the crime issue? You commit the fallacy of red herring, ad populum and false cause and we should be persuaded by this argument? Don't make claims unless you are prepared to support them in a logical way my friend, your motives are all too apparent.

[skapunkskatedude]

Originally Posted by MichaelM.

Are any of the people that are supporting MARTA on here native Atlantans?

No. But i'm English so I've had a fair bit of mass transit experience.

I am a native and have lived here since my birth in 1982.

My parents have told me what happened to Lenox Mall when MARTA was brought through in 1984 - crime spiked and the mall became a haven for thugs and teenagers from the south side that would ride up to the mall to hang out and not buy anything. The mall almost went under - thank god a new mangement company stepped in to increase security and keep things under control. But there was no doubt - a criminal element moved in the same time as MARTA.

I don't remember ever hearing Lenox be called a "thug" haven ever. And i've read up a lot about this stuff. As for teenagers hanging out at the mall, well, heaven forbid that the mall not just be full of old people... i mean, come on, we all know malls aren't for teens.

I remember what happened to Perimeter in 1996 when the Dunwoody Marta Station opened - the same exact thing. Spikes in petty crimes, hoodlums of teens running around (I was a teen then so I especially noticed), thuggish behavior. Perimeter was changed forever - for the worse - because of Marta. I was in Dunwoody at the Best Buy at 9:30 at night a couple of weeks ago when a panhandler asked me for money as he waited outside the Best Buy... in Dunwoody... across the street from MARTA - now how the heck you think he got there?

You know this is Atlanta right? Big city. To say a panhandler was hanging out on the street of a big city is like saying a college kid is hanging out outside of some dorms. Hell, i've seen panhandlers where my parents live in Warner Robins, and there's not one lick of mass transit, not even buses. How did he get THERE?

Why do you think a cop has to sit outside of the Perimeter Point Movie theater? Easy - the Sandy Springs Marta Station.

Or because it's where a lot of people are hanging out and the cop is doing his job. Again, theres always a cop hanging out outside of the movie theatre in Warner Robins...

A friend of mine used to live in Alpharetta off Kimball bridge within walking distance of the Mansell Bus station - she noticed after it was built a signifigant increase in crime in her neighborhood.

Of course, there are success stories, like Lindbergh Center, but mostly these exmaples explain why many native Atlantans are so opposed to MARTA - because they saw the criminal element it brings and how it drastically altered Perimeter, Lenox, and to a lesser extent Alpharetta, right before thier eyes.

How could this be solved? Removal of mass transit - which I do not support. Atlanta needs MARTA.

What I support is a zone fare system for MARTA. That way if you want to ride from Collie Park to Dunwoody to chill at the mall, break into some cars, or beg for some money - your going to have to pay for it - making it less likely to happen.

No other system besides NYC operates like Marta with a single fare. Washington, D.C. uses a zone fare system, and there are few comlpaints from the wealthy suburb Alexandria, VA about criminal elements becuase the zone fare system prevents them from moving in.

Of course people argued that MARTA is safe and showed stats to prove it was in line with other systems in terms of safety, but refused to acknoledge a huge factor - all those systems use zone fare.

I'm not sure what you're getting at here... You say that people showed evidence that MARTA was in line with other systems in terms of safety without the zone fare, but the others had zone fare and were in line with MARTA. So you're saying that MARTA is just as safe without zone fare... Or am i reading wrong? I've done that before, but this just doesn't make sense to me.

But why does Dr. Scott, CEO, refuse this option? Im not sure, but I have an idea - she has racist intentions. She knows most people who ride MARTA are black and she does not want them to be denied the right to ride wherever they want all over the city for one price. Justified? You decide - but all I know is that she refuses to discuss an option that would save MARTA.

GTTX already said most of what can be said, but i can't stop myself from commenting...

I'm not sure how you get that Dr. Scott is racist because she allows everyone to go anywhere for the same price. That just means that poor people have exactly the same opportunity to get around the city as rich people. Everyone can afford it. In fact, to say that we should raise the price so poor people can't move around would (in your definition of racism) be racist.

Now, i wouldn't necessarily be opposed to a zone fare system, but not for the reasons you've stated. Only to allow MARTA to make the money it needs to operate and expand.

Without the expansions of MARTA, i'm sure perimeter and Buckhead would never have exploded the way they did. This city, like any relies on mass transit, and no, i don't suppose it'll stop crime, but in order for the city to thrive, people have to move around. Even if the crime is a product of mass transit, the mass transit is a product of being a mass population centre, and using the transitive property, we can deduce that the crime is a product of a mass population centre. The solution; stop being a mass population centre. Thats not going to happen btw.

BTW, (as an example) Gwinnett is a huge illegal drug centre for the Mexican cartels. I think that trumps anything that MARTA can bring to Gwinnett.

[skapunkskatedude]

Originally Posted by gttx

Which building? Hopefully not the Medical Arts????

Naa, this little thingy here