Why MARTA matters to Atlanta

By Jim Durrett

I have now served on the MARTA board as a DeKalb County representative for about five months and have a profound concern that, come July 1, MARTA will have to make service cuts that will be devastating to many of its patrons, that will increase the level of congestion on our roads, and that will prolong the economic recovery we so desperately need. Through no fault of its own, MARTA is in crisis and needs assistance, and you should care. Let me explain.

MARTA is a creature of the Legislature, which I believe wisely forced the new agency to set aside half of the sales taxes collected for capital needs to build a robust system at the outset (the so-called 50 / 50 split). Today’s environment is different, and MARTA needs the flexibility to manage its resources and deliver quality service for the region. This state-imposed restriction should be permanently eliminated.

MARTA is among the most cost-effective transit systems in the country. According to the Federal Transit Administration, MARTA spends less money per mile for bus service than every other peer agency in the country, and less money per mile for train service than all but one of our peer agencies (Chicago).

MARTA is doing everything it can to make ends meet — furloughs, frozen salaries, increases in employee share of insurance premiums, etc. It is being responsible, prudent and smart.

MARTA must continue to make capital investments. It cannot take all revenue and spend it on operations, even if the 50 / 50 split is eliminated. The fiscal year 2011 capital budget is approximately $100 million short of what it ought to be. MARTA will be a responsible steward of the billions of dollars of infrastructure investment made in the system over time.

Transit is a labor-intensive industry. Our operating budget is predominantly wages and benefits (75.3 percent of the total operating budget for FY 2010). Because of declining sales tax receipt projections (latest forecast for FY 2011 is $286 million, originally forecasted at $403 million) and the fact that we are required to set a balanced operating budget, we must cut our operating budget by approximately $120 million for FY 2011. If 75 percent of our budget goes to wages and benefits, we have to make cuts there, and that means hours worked by bus and train operators, and that means cuts in service through modifications to or elimination of routes.

Cutbacks in service that will be required to make ends meet will have cascading effects most people have not been thinking about or can even imagine. Those that ride transit out of necessity and those that ride transit because it is a preferred option will, of course, be impacted; but those who directly or indirectly depend on these people will also be impacted. Those who drive will notice an increase in congestion. Institutions from other states will use this against us to woo business to their regions.

The state Legislature should do three things. First, pass long-term transportation funding legislation (that has been considered for four years now) that includes transit operations and maintenance as allowable uses of the new funding. Second, permanently eliminate the 50 / 50 restriction on the 
MARTA sales tax revenues. Third, provide short-term funding assistance to MARTA during the next three years, such as state-supported bonding for capital projects, which, coupled with elimination of the 50 / 50 restriction, would help MARTA to make ends meet.

One more point to consider: We have seen that a federal administration supportive of transit won’t give grants to a state that won’t support transit.

Jim Durrett is executive director of the Buckhead Community Improvement District.