Record gas prices crowd public transit buses

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Record gas prices crowd public transit buses

By S.A. REID
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/17/08

Traffic was what drove James Fondon eight years ago to let Cobb County Transit do the driving on his daily commute from Marietta to his job downtown with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Today, record gas prices are what's keeping him on the bus and has growing a number of other metro Atlantans hitching a ride with the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, leaving some buses with standing room only.

Every day, Fondon, 52, looks out from the window of his bus at the motorists clogging the highway.

"I feel for them," Fondon said.

Andrewn Jackson, who began using Xpress this week at a fare of $5 a day, figures the $75 a week she would otherwise spend on gas looks better in her pocket than in a service station's register.

The average price for regular gas locally hit $3.409 per gallon on Thursday and reached $3.79 in at least one metro location, according to AtlantaGasPrices.com, which relies on reports from motorists. The national average, the Web site said, was $3.437.

"It's too much, and I drive a truck," said Jackson, 34, a technical assistant who cited traffic and helping the environment as additional reasons. "In this case, I'm saving a lot. That pretty much says it all."

The cost of a monthly, suburb-to-downtown, regular adult bus pass is $80 for Xpress, $90 for Cobb Express and $100 for Gwinnett Express, according to the systems' Web sites.

The transit authority welcomes the uptick in popularity of its GRTA Xpress bus service and its express routes operated under contract by the Cobb Community and Gwinnett County transit agencies. It doesn't welcome the consequence — overcrowding.

Transit officials predict the situation will get worse before it gets better. Gas prices continue to climb. And Georgia lawmakers ended the legislative session earlier this month after rejecting Gov. Sonny Perdue's 2009 budget request for the $13.3 million GRTA needs to add 28 coaches to its current fleet of 127.

As a consequence, the authority can't add buses to its overcrowded Xpress routes or continue its planned service expansion, which would include more "Park 'n' Ride" stations, without modifying its current service plan, said Robert Alexander, the agency's customer service director.

GRTA on average serves about 5,400 passengers a day on 26 express routes. From 1.1 million total passenger boardings in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2007, the authority is on pace to show 1.7 million boardings this fiscal year — a 55-percent increase.

MARTA officials were unable Thursday to provide similar information on ridership increases, if any.

Georgia Regional plans to make another request for the needed funding next legislative session. Even if the authority receives the money, it could take up to a year to get new buses on the road, officials warn.

"It going to be tough," said William Mecke, a GRTA spokesman. "We're going to do our best with what we have. That's where we are right now....We're hopeful for next year."

Meanwhile, the authority is studying changes it can make to relieve overcrowding but has begun informing customers that the problem may be around for a while.

"We got zero," Alexander said of the legislature. "We're facing the very clear prospect of having people standing on our coaches."

That's already a reality on Xpress Route 432 from Stockbridge to downtown. The route, which operates out of a new transit station at I-75 and Ga. 138, reached capacity for 7 a.m. departures about five weeks after its Feb. 4 start.

On some trips last month, some Stockbridge riders had to stand in the aisle of the 57-passenger coach during the ride of more than 20 miles. The problem also has occurred on other metro routes, such as those serving Conyers, Douglasville, McDonough, Newnan, Doraville and Johns Creek.

The legal limit for the number of standees per bus is 15.

Cheryl Cooper, a Stockbridge customer, wants GRTA to fix the problem — yesterday.

"We need another bus," groused Cooper. "This one is crowded. I feel cheated."

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Comments

By Mr. M

May 9, 2008 12:02 PM | Link to this

In order to have an efficient regional transit system, all parties (legislative and community leaders) need to stop half stepping aand start doing there jobs. If they fail to fulfill their obligations to public transportaion, then they do not need to work for the public. Transit riders are taxpayers, therefore legislative leaders need to be held accountable to the transit riders (in particular all MARTA riders).
Community leaders need to work more dilligently to get state funding for MARTA not just Xpress.
MARTA buses and vans can go into places where Xpress coaches can not.The feds are not going to keep funding MARTA and/or Xpress if the state is not doing there job believe that.

By coweta_rider

May 4, 2008 5:59 PM | Link to this

It's a shame but, our current scheme of public transportation doesn't work well for me. It is downright inefficient, in fact.

Let's say that I want to go to the Atlanta airport (something I do regularly). When I drive, it takes me 25 minutes to drive there from my house. When I take the Xpress Bus from Newnan, I first have to drive to the bus stop and park my car. To be sure that I am not late for the bus I must leave at least 25 minutes before the scheduled bus departure time. Then I must ride the bus to the 5 Points MARTA station (which takes 45 minutes) and then catch a train to the airport, which takes about 20 minutes. All together I take an additional hour and 5 minutes just going to the airport. On a round trip I've wasted 2 hours and 10 minutes. My time is more valuable than the savings that I would have gained by taking the bus and MARTA. I would love to be able to take public transportation more often but it just doesn't make sense unless I've got "time to burn".

By Pierce Randall

Apr 22, 2008 10:32 AM | Link to this

GRTA does get money from the state. MARTA doesn't (except for a nominal amount for Breeze that was supposed to be seed money for a system that would be adopted by GRTA), insultingly enough for people who actually live in the city or inner suburbs.

Maybe the reason GRTA is so crowded is because they use coaches and not traditional transit buses. I know they trips they take are relatively long, but a lot of suburban-to-urban lines in cities just use transit buses. That would also make the standing room more managable. Finally, I also think they're cheaper and could be tacked on next time MARTA orders a lot of them.

Jon, MARTA, CCT, GCT, Clayton County Transit, and to a lesser degree GRTA all have very transparent planning processes and are constrained by Title IX at the federal level to provide service equitably based off of ridership. They are probably running the most needed routes first, like heavily-congested 9-5 commuter service into the five biggest employment center in the region -- Downtown, Midtown, Buckhead, Perimeter Center, and the Airport. Please support more state transit spending so that everyone -- even non-traditional commuters or suburban workers -- can be served, if you feel the system isn't comprehensive enough. (Interestingly, you should read the Transit Planning Board's new extremely comprehensive rapid transit plan.

GRTA has actually got into trouble not running enough reverse-commute trips (I mean, their buses have to ride empty back otherwise!), which is quite discriminatory to lower-income reverse-commuters working in service positions in the suburbs.

By Adrian Sotomayor

Apr 22, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this

So, I guess you too are worried about the rising cost of gas� Well you are not alone. I drive a Toyota Prius and at the current price of 3.38 per gallon (4/21/2008) is more that $30.00 per fill-up. I can�t even imagine people driving an SUV or any type of commercial vehicle. Any way, so the gas price is going up and your cash flow will no longer allow you the occasional night in town with your friends and family.
Here is my list of suggestions on ways to save gas, your budget and the environment:

By Douglasville Rider

Apr 21, 2008 7:41 AM | Link to this

$$$ Saved riding GRTA I have figured my current savings to be $7320 a year in parking and gas alone - and climbing every week with the gas price. That does not include tires and maintenance on my truck. I enjoy my time by listening to music or catnapping - it's great not to think about traffic or dodging other vehicles.

By Peachy

Apr 18, 2008 8:52 AM | Link to this

Besides all the $$$ I'm saving on gas for my commute from Stone Mountain to Emory, I am really enjoying my daily commute to work on the bus. I'm getting some leisure reading done and my nerves aren't nearly as frazzled when I get to my desk.

By David

Apr 18, 2008 4:35 AM | Link to this

Ridership is up 600,000. At up to $5 per rider, that could be $3 million in extra revenue. You can't buy a couple of buses with $3 million?

By David

Apr 18, 2008 4:28 AM | Link to this

The state won't fund GRTA because it would open the door to state funding of MARTA. That is something the state does not want to do.

By HCCynic

Apr 18, 2008 12:15 AM | Link to this

I have taken Xpress for years and other than those few evenings where I need to get out of downtown at a specific time, it is the only way to go for convenience. Pair the conveniece of the service with the $3000 year I save in gas and parking costs, and the service is a definate "winner" in my book.

Looking at it another way, I can also consider the service a nice Federal income tax recovery vehicle. If I subtract the $3000 I save (and would otherwise spend on gas and parking) from my tax bill, I cut my Federal Tax Liability by 25% or more. The satisfaction I get from knowing that I am personally benefitting from the taxes I pay and that the Federal government is not wasting yuet anotehr $3000 of my money on some liberal, woe to the victims, social program, is a supreme bonus.

By Jason

Apr 17, 2008 11:42 PM | Link to this

GRTA is a nice start but it is a drop in the bucket. About 250,000 trips are made each day on MARTA buses and an equal amount of trips made on MARTA trains. That means that MARTA provides more trips in a little over two days than GRTA does in a whole year.

As long as this state continues to be in the pocket of road builders, don't expect to see much other than token efforts at traffic alternatives. Already we're losing out to other cities when companies want to expand or relocate and the places we're losing to aren't ones who have more roads than us.

Marta Rider, you are right about gas taxes not covering the whole cost of roads. According to a Samford University study, only about 20% of the spending by the state of Georgia on roads is covered by the state gas tax. And that's only for building and upkeep. Add in the cost of policing the roads, HERO vehicles and operators, local roads, etc, it looks like the road system is a socialist project that Marx and Engels would be proud of.

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