Home > Opinion > Commutants! > Archives > 2005 > November > 11 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USThis MARTA thing’s not so bad
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A male friend, a good-hearted family guy who regularly rides MARTA offered this advice as I prepared for my first trek to work by bus this morning: “Don’t look up. Take a book. Don’t make eye contact.”
I’ve read the Commutant blog this week and been amused, even horrified, at some things passengers have described. But, I’m game, I thought, after all I have a warped sense of humor.
I certainly didn’t want to see the occasional lewd behavior and racist incidents that some riders complained about, but I did want to take in the scene of strangers confined together for a short time in a small space on a MARTA bus and train.
I walked the quarter-mile to the bus station on Peachtree Road to wait on the 23 bus that would take me to the Arts Center train station for the ride downtown. I live near Piedmont Hospital off Collier Road and can make the 4.1-mile trip in exactly 15 minutes. Today’s total trip time was 45 minutes – shorter than I’d expected.
As I continued the block to the bus stop, I encountered eight or nine soldiers, dressed in camo and carrying rifles, walking silently down Peachtree Street in recognition of Veteran’s Day.
The bus arrived at the stop five minutes after I did, three-quarters full and way too quiet. A cell phone yakker boarding at the next stop makes up for that.
At the Arts Center train platform I met Terese Taylor, a nice young woman from Ohio who was studying an Atlanta map. Taylor, who works in human resources in Cincinnati, said she is taking a look-see at Atlanta. We talked people, traffic, Ohio. We parted at the Five Points station, where I gave her my business card and told her to call me for lunch if she ends up in Atlanta.
The station was clean and an attendant at a turnstile even helped me find the right exit to the Five Points Plaza. When I walked into the sunlight there was a penny, heads-up, shining up at me. I picked it up, made a wish and dropped it into my purse.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Carla Caldwell
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By Mad As Zell
November 11, 2005 09:07 PM | Link to this
Oh come on Carla, that was way too much of a positive and encouraging experience to have on MARTA. Now you know that’s no way to start an angst-filled blog attacking the competence, judgement and morals of local government and each other for that matter (LOL).
By Veronica
November 11, 2005 11:29 PM | Link to this
Seeing some of the responses to previous MARTA entries has made me want to laugh, cry, scream, and break something all at once. It takes all sorts, I suppose… I live in Roswell and am a student at GSU (transient from Loyola New Orleans, but that’s another story…), and I ride MARTA to Peachtree Center or Georgia State station every day. I used to drive to North Springs station, but got so fed up with the traffic that I now drive to the Mansell Park & Ride and take the bus. Bus service is not as bad as people say it is. The buses do run late sometimes, and there are some buses that are always late. It’s one of those things I’ve learned to deal with. Train service has been aggravating lately, especially on weekends with the track work, but it’s much less aggravating than driving and trying to fight my way downtown during rush hour. I should probably mention that I am young, white, and female. I haven’t encountered racism while using MARTA—I’m sure it exists; but I’ve had the fortune not to encounter it. I’m sure I will sooner or later. The bus and train operators have been polite and friendly. I haven’t been harrassed. The majority of people I’ve seen are polite and keep to themselves. The few times I have felt threatened have been at night, with drunk and unruly people causing problems. If something really bothers me, I change cars. I feel more safe while on the train than while walking on the sidewalk and crossing in crosswalks when I have the signal downtown. I do have some gripes with MARTA (surprise surprise!). Buses and trains could run a lot more frequently. The “Next train” signs in stations need to be fixed and back up and running. Train cars need their speakers and a/c systems replaced (I know they are being overhauled; I just wish it could be completed more quickly). Stations could be cleaner, but I can live with some dirt. All in all, I’m pretty satisfied with MARTA and it would take a lot to make me stop riding it. Besides the money I save on gas, tolls, and parking, I’m much less stressed out than I would be if I were driving.
By Christopher Weed
November 14, 2005 04:51 PM | Link to this
In response to Veronica, I wonder why you haven’t experienced the racism, could it be that you are a female? As a white male, I have experienced it on more than one occasion. It is sad that in this day and age this stuff goes on. MARTA is the most ineffiecient transit system and the largest anywhere. Let a private organization handle it, that’s what I say.
By Tom Riddick
November 14, 2005 05:55 PM | Link to this
I’ve ridden MARTA to work daily for over 10 years. I’m a white male and I can’t recall ever experiencing any racism towards me on MARTA. Now, I have experienced train delays of over an hour, bums sleeping on trains, weird smells, drunks (with no security around), people with their luggage occupying seats (again, where’s the MARTA cop?), train drivers who never announce stations, broken turnstiles, broken TVs, broken doors, broken elevators, broken escalators, broken ventilations systems in the stations and so forth — but these things seem to impact blacks and whites about the same. And, in spite of all these problems, riding MARTA still beats putting the wear and tear on my car, paying for parking and suffering the traffic in Atlanta.
By M
November 15, 2005 10:39 AM | Link to this
Chris:
I have lived in the ATL for 22 years. And one thing that I know for sure-one does not have to ride MARTA to experience the racism/classism that pervasively permeates this so-called “city too busy to hate”.
Unfortunately, the arbitrary, and often derogatory, association of race, class and gender can rear its ugly head at any time, in any given place, at any given moment-all without fore warning. Consider yourself fortunate if riding MARTA is the only experience that you have with racist behaviors and attitudes.