ATLANTA — MARTA announced it would hold a virtual public meeting to discuss a “strategic redesign” of its bus routes as part of the agency’s “NextGen Bus Network.”
The virtual meeting will be the first of several online and in-person discussions focused on community feedback for the proposed bus changes.
According to MARTA, the new routes will be part of a “smarter, faster and better system to serve the evolving needs” of the metro Atlanta area.
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Meetings will continue through early February 2025.
“This redesign of our bus network represents a generational shift in our service to better align with the region’s dynamic growth, changing commute patterns, and post-pandemic realities of public transit use,” MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood said in a statement. “We are eager to share the proposed bus network with our customers and stakeholders and hear feedback on opportunities to refine.”
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According to MARTA, the NextGen Bus Network will create more jobs, more destinations and more opportunities by:
- Expanding frequent service areas from 5 corridors to 18, making it easier for riders to reach their destinations.
- Increasing 20-minute service routes from nine existing routes to 13 planned routes for shorter wait times and quicker trips.
- Adding 12, new, on-demand service zones, offering flexible transit solutions for communities with lower population density.
- Providing seven-day-a-week service on all routes and on-demand zones, eliminating peak-only service hours to meet riders’ diverse schedules.
- Streamlining fixed bus routes from 113 to 79 to create a simpler and more navigable network, with minimal impact on current service areas.
- Greater accessibility for residents and workers, with 95,000 more people and 103,000 additional jobs within close reach of frequent transit service that runs every 15 minutes or better.
MARTA said the changes, once enacted, would allow 143,200 more residents to have access to bus services running every 30 minutes or sooner.
To attend the first virtual meeting, which will be held Tuesday at noon, click here.
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