Cobb County officials are proposing a new express bus route catered to millennials.
Bus Route 10X, an express route focused on university students, would connect Kennesaw State University to Midtown Atlanta, where students can easily access Georgia Tech, Georgia State and SCAD.
In order to attract millennials, Route 10x will introduce technologically "smart" features, including:
- Real-time bus arrival information
- WiFi and charging stations on buses
- Seamless fare card with MARTA/GRTA
"We know that millennials, more than most generations, are driving less, taking transit more and they're married to their cellphones," Eric Meyer, Cobb County Department of Transportation's planning division manager, told WABE.
The express bus route will also limit bus stops to cut down on travel time. The express route will only make seven stops, resulting in a 90 minute commute.
A similar bus route today would take two hours.
The bus would travel Big Shanty Park-and-Ride in Kennesaw; the Marietta Transfer Center; Kennesaw State University’s Marietta campus; Windy Hill Road; the Cumberland Transfer Center; the MARTA Arts Center Station and MARTA Midtown Station.
The buses would also utilize Akers Mill Road to access the Interstate 75 HOV lane, according to the Marietta Daily Journal.
Transportation officials briefed the board of commissioners last Tuesday on the plans for Bus Route 10X.
The bus route was the byproduct of a study conducted by the city of Marietta, Southern Polytechnic University and Life University in 2013.
It would relieve the "often-overcrowded" CCT Route 10, which is one of the highest ridership transit bus routes in the southeast, according to the Cobb County Department of Transportation.
Cobb County was awarded a federal grant of $1.6 million in 2013 to cover the operating costs for three years. There will be a local match of $320,000 over a three year period, according to the county.
A proposed timeline has the board approving the project in January and ordering the buses in March.
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