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DEL.ICIO.USOn the bus: Cool, clean and plenty of seats
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m sure you’ve seen Gwinnett Transit System buses on our roads with three, maybe four, passengers on board.
Well, on Wednesday, I was one of those riders. I hopped on Route No. 30 and took a round-trip ride from the transfer center, located behind the defunct Gwinnett Place Cinemas on Satellite Boulevard, to downtown Norcross and the Technology Parkway area.
The bus was clean, its plush seats comfy and it’s temperature cool. The only annoyance was the sound of the engine, or something mechanical, whenever the driver slowed or made a stop. The passengers were a solemn lot. They looked straight ahead, stared out the window, made little eye contact. More on that later.
First, a little history. The Gwinnett Transit System was formed to provide express, local and para transit services to county residents. The Gwinnett-to-Atlanta express service debuted in November 2001, and soon became popular with commuters who liked zooming downtown in HOV lanes. The local routes, like the one the Badie Tour experienced, began operating in November 2003 with two routes, amid mixed public reviews. It now has five routes.
The idea of county public transit has been a long time coming. Decades ago, public transit equaled MARTA in the eyes of many, something some leaders and residents couldn’t envision. In 1999, the city of Snellville sent a resolution to the County Commission opposing mass transit. It would “have a negative impact on the quality of life of Snellville citizens,” the resolution stated.
Other reasons were wrapped up in a lot of spoken and whispered hullabaloo about local control, city versus suburbs, and truth be told, race.
One thing about growth, traffic and congestion, though: It makes you think, or rethink things. Minds changed. Public transit wasn’t so evil after all. That image of black Atlantans hopping on a bus to rob and mob up here became less of an issue. After all, thieves drive cars and come in all shades of color.
Gwinnett didn’t let MARTA in, though. Like Cobb and other suburban havens, it simply created a transit system network that links its buses to key MARTA transit stations in DeKalb and downtown Atlanta.
Before I climbed on board Wednesday, I talked to Phil Boyd, the transit’s acting director, about the system and whether its local buses have dispelled its early image as empty, rolling red fortresses. He told me that fare revenue accounts for about 30 percent of the transit system’s $13 million budget. The express runs — a $3 one-way trip — have a daily average ridership of 2,700 passengers. The five local routes, which charge a $1.75 one-way fare, account for 4,600 riders everyday.
The bus on Route 30 left the transfer center with four passengers, but eventually a dozen or so passengers came aboard. It was a sedate group. Few riders wanted to be photographed or to talk about public transit. After I got off the bus, it occurred to me that maybe the riders were ashamed. It was as though there’s a stigma attached to riding a bus in a region where most people prefer to commute alone.
Jeff Whitten settled into a mid-row seat. The 20-year-old lives in Atlanta and works as a salesman for a furniture store off Pleasant Hill Road. His is a two-hour journey. He takes a MARTA train from the Ashby station to Five Points and, finally, to the Doraville station. There, he hops on the No. 10 local route and takes it to the transfer center off Satellite Boulevard. He catches the last bus there.
He praises Gwinnett transit, ‘cept for one thing.
“I wish the buses ran every 10 minutes rather than every 15,” said Whitten, a sophomore at Georgia State University.
Tiffany Thomas hopped on at a stop off Steve Reynolds Boulevard. She takes the bus to her job as a manager at an Arby’s off Peachtree Parkway. She’s originally from Madison, Wis., where buses run later hours on weeknights and more regularly on weekends. Gwinnett bus service doesn’t run on Sundays.
“I just use it to go to work,” Thomas said.
Neither Whitten nor Thomas have vehicles.
Me, I’ve got a car. Would I take the bus to work?
If I could, I would.
— Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
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By Bruce Wilcox
August 16, 2007 12:12 PM | Link to this
It takes time for anything to catch on, plus there has to be some improvements for the riders. Shelters would be a big plus, sidewalks in area’s without them, imagine a mother pushing a stoller on a dirt path and what I feel is the biggest, safer better timed crossings. Again imagine the mother with a stroller trying to beat the mad dash of cars that have to be there people in the crosswalk or not.
Mass transit is here to stay, sooner or later people have to realize it. Sad it has taken so long for the county to act and refusing MARTA way back when turned out was a disaster.
People complain that it will always be goverment subsibized, well look at where most of the SPLOST money ends up, roads, what is the difference?
By Sandy_G
August 16, 2007 4:56 PM | Link to this
I will ride the bus when it can get me work and back more quickly or at least as quick as I can get myself there in a car.
Two hours to get from Atlanta to Pleasant Hill road? I don’t think I’ll be trading my car keys for a bus pass anytime soon when I can drive my car from downtown to Pleasant Hill in less than an hour even at peak rush hour.
I rode a form of mass transit when I lived in northern Virginia and commuted into Washington D.C. years ago. There were van pools and buses galore that would take you from a commuter lot non-stop into downtown D.C. The travel time was half of what it would be in a car during rush hour and the cost was lower or equal to what it cost to drive your car and park, so it made sense.
Washington, D.C., however, has had a great system of HOV lanes in place for years. There are two lanes built into the median of the interstate with their own dedicated onramps and exit ramps. The lanes flow in the direction going into town in the mornings and the lanes reverse and flow out of town in the evenings. There are barriers on both sides of the lanes so there is no “lane jumping” by single-passenger vehicles, a breakdown lane so that accidents and stalls can move over to the side and most times the HOV lanes flow at a steady 55-mph pace regardless of what is going on in the other lanes.
Washington, D.C. also implemented commuter rail using existing Amtrack lines, so there are a variety of options for people wanting to commute. The commuter trains, like the HOV lanes, only go in the direction of the city in the mornings, and run out of the city in the evenings. After about 7:00 pm, the trains stop running until the next morning, so they are used strictly by commuters. They are clean, comfortable, affordable and compared to driving, they are very fast.
Why Atlantans cannot grasp that these types of options are available to us and get them implemented is beyond me. People want transit that is fast, clean and affordable. Sitting on a bus backed up in rush hour traffic is not my idea of “mass transit”. We have to build the infrastructure to move the buses and use the infrastructure that we already have (existing rail lines) to start moving people quickly and efficiently to where they need to go. It’s going to cost money and be a royal pain in the butt while it’s being constructed, but we have to bite the bullet and do it.
The argument about crime is mute. The crime came to Gwinnett without MARTA, all on it’s own. Now it’s time to face the truth and get with the program. Every day that we wait means it is going to cost us just that much more in real estate prices and construction costs.
By SharonH
August 16, 2007 9:21 PM | Link to this
It was as though there’s a stigma attached to riding a bus in a region where most people prefer to commute alone.
That’s exactly right. I commute via MARTA because it’s stupid to do otherwise. I get to work in the same amount of time or less. I save on the cost of gas by half. I don’t have to pay for parking or look for a parking spot. I get more exercise walking back and forth to the platform. And my job pays for my monthly transcard. The biggest inconvenience of riding the train is the noise, a problem I solve with a pair of earplugs and a good book. Yet my friends and coworkers act appalled. I don’t know what they think you can catch on MARTA and I am not concerned with appearing affluent. And as for crime, my car was broken into 4 times while I was driving. Now that I catch MARTA, problem solved.
By Jonny
August 16, 2007 10:16 PM | Link to this
Ricky, I love ya baby, but you like so many others, want everyone else to take public transit but don’t take it yourselves. You know, ‘cept if it’s for a news story.
Something that makes me want to discontinue my MARTA habit on school nights are the pretentious comments of some MARTA riders. You know, the ones that effectively say those that don’t take the system are stupid, ignorant, etc; and MARTA riders are smart. You ever take MARTA? Most of those people are freakin’ raving lunatics, morons, convicts, and the rest are the worse: white liberals.
Except for me. I’m a great guy!
By Michael H. Smith
August 17, 2007 2:40 AM | Link to this
If I could, I would.
Me, I’ve got a car too. If I could, I would have one less car and I’d pocket a lot of money for using mass transit.
By AgentX
August 17, 2007 6:22 AM | Link to this
What…..we have public transit? I just those busses were just so pretty and shiny. It’s ahsame that ey have to transport people.
By AgentX
August 17, 2007 6:22 AM | Link to this
What…..we have public transit? I just those busses were just so pretty and shiny. It’s ahsame that they have to tranport people.
By agentX
August 17, 2007 6:28 AM | Link to this
What…..we have public transit? I just though those busses were just so pretty and shiny. It’s ahsame that they have to tranport people.
By AgentX
August 17, 2007 6:33 AM | Link to this
Please excuse the grammatical errors, I work at night and my brain kinda shuts down in the morning. Guess if I took public transit, I wouldn’t have to worry about driving with my brain turned to the off position. Hmmmm…scary thought?
By Don
August 17, 2007 7:39 AM | Link to this
A few observations:
Those 2700 express bus riders and some of the route 10 riders have “saved” the state from the constructing an additional lane I-85. 25 miles @ $20M/miles = $500M. Makes Gwinnett’s $9M direct subsidy look like chicken feed! The problem is that the state is reaping where the county sows….
The Gwinnett express busses themselves are a disgrace. They are nothing more than gussied up city busses that are too slow and have inadequate seating and climate control for long commutes. With decent equipment, the ridership would grow even more.
The district in the county that is sliding downhill the fastest is the only one where there is no local bus service and whose commissioner is steadfast against it. Coincidence? Maybe not…..
By Kathleen
August 17, 2007 8:52 AM | Link to this
If Gwinnett Transit or MARTA could take me where I want to go or get me there in a reasonable amount of time I would use it.
Sadly, for my family transit does not meet either of these requirements.
By Michael H. Smith
August 17, 2007 2:36 PM | Link to this
Yes minds do change over time. Here’s and idea yours truly opposed for years:
http://www.georgiabraintrain.com
Now, after many world events transpiring, land development that has taken place in the area and the road deficit that has existed for years only producing an unbearable gridlock on what few roads there are, even the most eloquent stubborn reasoning becomes (excuse the expression) downright stupid. The Brain Train may be a limited answer but it is a good short measure solution that would serve a lot of people. Here are a few arguments to consider.
In not using this Brain Train:
Could another HWY 78 be built today with no negative impact? My answer: No.
Could another I-85 be built today with no negative impact? My answer: No.
Could another 316 be built with no negative impact? My answer: No.
In using this Brain Train:
Would taking more cars off the roads without adding more buses be the better solution to improving mobility? My answer: Yes.
Would the efficiency of travel time improve? My answer: Yes.
Are public-private ventures better than government ran transportation entities? My answer: Yes.
The problem in denying mobility access to the few bad folks, is that all the good folks are denied the same access; as well, they forfeit their greater freedom and liberty wrongly to the few bad folks they rightly abhor.
So tell me now Mr. Badie, in the hullabaloo about local control, who is truly in charge and who is really being controlled?
By Don
August 17, 2007 3:02 PM | Link to this
Bob Wilcox-
If public-private ventures are better than gov’t run transp entities, then, are you suggesting that governements should get out of the business of owning and operating roads and highways?
By Mel
August 17, 2007 3:37 PM | Link to this
Why doesn’t Gwinnett have a weekly card similar to MARTA’s? A 10 trip booklet @ $14 is not hardly comprable to MARTA’s weekly card(unlimited rides) @ $13.
And when will they begin service on Sundays?
And why do the Community meetings always fall on a Tuesday/Thursday? Can they have them on 2 consecutive days? And a 6 PM starting time isn’t realistic. Your heaviest ridership is mornings and evenings. At least wait until 7 to start your meetings.
By ATICO
August 17, 2007 5:18 PM | Link to this
Yep, Gwinnett buses are cool, clean and empty. They continually keep eating away at the tax payers pocketbook. Having said that, I love to ride a bus, but there is no route I can use without lots of hassle. Once they overcome the 66% short fall in revenue they will be looked upon, at least by me, as a welcome means of transportation.
I lived a few years in a Central American country and believe you me, the bus systems in that part of the world move the masses at a very low cost to the rider. The buses are normally not modern, make lots of noise and have seats to accomodate local size citizens (no leg room for Europeans or Afro Americon’s) but they are dependable, cheap and get you where you are going without the worry that some thief will steal your parked car or any of its parts.
By Kat
August 17, 2007 6:34 PM | Link to this
Every morning and afternoon Old Norcross is backed up between Gwinnett Place Mall and Buford Hwy does the bus run this route? No.
Peachtree Industrial is packed morning and evening between Norcross and Suwanee morning and evening does the bus run this route? No.
Obviously the bus isn’t going where people want to go. No wonder ridership is low.
By Nice job
August 26, 2007 10:41 AM | Link to this
Really nice good with this piece. The Gwinnett buses are decent, but not advertised that well throughout the county. And they need to run later hours and on Sundays. Would be great to take down to a Falcons game.
MARTA rail needs to go through Gwinnett. It’s time for rail stations throughout the county. Add that to the bus system, and it could be a real difference maker.
By midha ekna
August 27, 2007 5:42 AM | Link to this
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By midha ekna
August 27, 2007 5:43 AM | Link to this
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By midha ekna
August 27, 2007 5:45 AM | Link to this
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By Emmitt Kelly
August 28, 2007 6:27 PM | Link to this
Lets see where the budget is in a few years.. we get a good man in and now he is out the door.. Ford, the credit card lover (marta’s) and skirt chaser was sooo great.. Neal Boortz had a great time with him. so we will find out how this is going to be.. Marta board has made no bones about it since the olympics..you want a job your ancestors had better have come from close to the equator